Living in the moment is something that Priscilla Chan ’25 says everyone should try at least once in their life. She channels this mindset into everything she does, whether it’s volleyball, spending time with friends and family or doing a crossword. For Chan, the present is where she finds joy, and it’s where she’s learned the most about herself.
One of Chan’s memories from her time at Castilleja is starting as a new nine while her sister was a senior. “I really liked being a freshman when my sister was a senior,” she said. “I was already a little intimidated, but having her here and being able to meet older upperclassmen made things a lot easier.” This experience has inspired the rest of her Casti journey, as she approaches life with an open mind.
Chan’s discovery of new activities at Casti is a product of her mindset. She picked up volleyball at Casti, even though it wasn’t a major interest of hers before then. It is now one of her favorite parts of high school. A few more of her interests are being in Counterpoint and the Taiwanese Affinity Group.
Outside of school, Chan loves being with her friends and family, eating good food and taking photos. She attributes a lot of her personal growth and inspirations to her friends at Castilleja: “I feel like I’ve grown and learned a lot from them over the past four years.” Castilleja’s tight-knit community and small class sizes have also allowed her to get to know so many people on a deeper level.
Chan says that one of the more difficult parts of her life has been grappling with her multicultural identity. She is part Cantonese, Taiwanese and Korean, and has devoted time to learning about her heritage by “talking to [her] grandma about her heritage”. Chan’s ability to connect with the past but focus on the present has helped her understand and learn more about who she is as a person.
If Chan were to give her younger self a piece of advice, she would remind herself that everything works out in the end. Chan acknowledges that she is an overthinking person and is still teaching herself not to dwell on stressful situations. She continues to practice living in the moment and focuses on taking life step-by-step forward.
