I baked my way into brown university

This is the personal statement I wrote and the video portfolio my brother helped me put together for when I applied to Brown in 2020. It all seems a little cheesy reading it back now but the broader ideas are still very true to me. Being at Brown has only made my love for baking grow more and more. It is so funny looking back at this to see how much I have changed but how some parts of me will somehow always stay the same.

My Brown Video Portfolio

Out of all the art forms that exist in the world, baking is the only one that makes use of all five senses. In a single second, someone can simultaneously touch hearts, see soft smiles, taste affection, smell sweetness, and hear the silence of savoring. This immersive experience—for both the baker and receiver—channels every sense into sheer euphoria.

My earliest and happiest memories have been in the kitchen. On my tiptoes and barely able to see over the counter, I’d help my mom measure flour, crack eggs, and sample batter. I was her little helper, albeit a bigger mess maker.  We’d make thumbprint cookies and strawberry shortcakes for the teachers I adored. 

Always a little shy and without many words, I’ve found an outlet through food to reach people and show affection. As I’ve grown older, I’ve become more connected to baking and have found that it involves creativity, organization, exploration, and sometimes sheer audacity that always leaves me with a sense of wonder and fulfillment. 

At any given hour, my legs find their way to the place I know so well. My arms reach for the bag of walnuts, the bear-shaped container of honey, and the frozen sticks of butter. Being careful with a serrated knife, I chop the walnuts into a fine powder, filling my body with peace each time I hear the blade hit the wooden chopping board. I run my fingers over the nuts, sifting through their grainy and waxy textures, patiently waiting for my next flash of unconscious instinct. Buzzing around the kitchen, I feel more energized with each incorporation of another ingredient. This peaceful time is mine—to create, inspire, and recharge. 

Folding my dry ingredients together, I gradually see the distinctive elements blend together into one homogenous mixture. I grate the butter in, racing against the speed of the melting block. Soon hints of sweet honey fill the house and I watch the rounds rise in the oven. The kitchen now resembles a detective’s investigation space, an artist’s painting studio, or a mad scientist’s chemistry lab. In these moments I look quintessentially myself, with streaks of flour and sticky substances splattered all over my hair and face.

With a stumbling of footsteps, I hear my brother ask, “what smells so good?” followed by laughter over my current chaotic appearance. Instantly, soft smiles appear as I plate the fresh-out-of-the-oven biscuits. I hear the snap of a bite, followed by momentary silence, followed by waving hands and a panicked expression over the blazing hot temperature. Through all of that, he continues to take bite after bite, allowing rich flavors to coat his tongue until only crumbs and grease remain in his hands.

This expression of love has seeped into every facet of my life. Whether I’m whipping up custard tarts for my church fundraisers, vegan earth cookies for my environmental club’s meetings, a seven-layer matcha crepe cake for my dad’s birthday, a Chinese-style red bean dessert for my brother’s homecoming, lemon lavender scones for my friends that need a little comfort, or banana bread for my local senior center during the pandemic, the beaming smiles and twinkling eyes I receive in return are my greatest reward.

I bestow my creative license in baking, because not only can I reveal my ability to use intuition, to experiment, and to create art, I can also send notions of warmth to the minds and hearts of those I care deeply about. In this endeavor, I embody the sixth sense of spreading the purest form of love and compassion in unspoken words. So, while tangibly, all that was left on my brother’s hands were specks of biscuit and butter, my warmth continues to live within him, and his smile is forever captured in my memories.

To truly sense the face of love, you must touch, see, hear, smell, and taste it.