I started playing when I was nine in the fourth grade, then I studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In fourth grade, in order to get into the advanced band you had to play Mares Eat Oats. I was struggling with the director. A lot of things in contemporary music are really different. I got involved with The Contemporary Music Association. There were four of us on stage and there were random notes all over the page we could play whatever we wanted. My favorite teacher was Mr. Le Fuyer, my 10th grade English teacher. I was always interested in writing but no one really drove me there as much as he did. When I got here, I had 20 page assignments and he made sure I started writing.

My parents are very open to everything. My father is not musically inclined at all, he's a football coach. My mom is a singer -- she's the champion karaoke singer of Sri Lanka. My sister played the flute and she went to SOTA. My mother thought it was important whether writing or playing the flute to have something besides academics. We went on a three-week trip to Sri Lanka, Korea and Japan. She works in the humanities department for the Gap. My dad teaches junior high.

Advice for people who are considering taking music seriously: It's important to have an interest as far as a creative outlet, but when you get involved in music, this isn't necessarily what you're going to do with the rest of your life. I'm not going to continue with music professionally, but will always do it because I love it. Sometimes it's difficult being involved in five different groups, but when I pick up the flute to play for myself it's worth it.

It doesn't matter whether it's offered in public or private school, it's more just getting involved with music. Schools should offer music because if kids don't know about it they can't benefit. For me, in middle school, it was an escape from peer pressure. That and horseback riding.

My favorite courses are US History and English. I write more than I play the flute. Mostly I write nonfiction, about travel, meeting family, being mixed. I used to take poetry in school. My ambition is to be a journalist, and I'm applying to schools on the East Coast. I want to go to Wellesley. I like Billie Holliday and Bob Marley and all music.