#GraduateStory | Liu Yimo: Watching the Clouds Rise: Three Years of Effort and Patience

I vividly remember reading graduates' stories last year. Now that it is my turn to reflect on three years of high school, I appreciate the experience even more. Thank you to the school for giving me the opportunity to record these years and share my thoughts.

I would describe myself as someone who relies on hard work.

Of everything I learned during my three years at BAID, patience has been the most important.



Part 01 · Grade 10: Finding My Place

Throughout middle school, I studied the Chinese national curriculum. Joining BAID meant adjusting to an unfamiliar learning environment and assessment system. When I first entered Grade 10, terms such as TOEFL and SAT, along with GPA, felt remote from my own experience, even though other students discussed them often. I also had little idea of what I wanted to study at university. As I adjusted, I was eager to prove myself and repeatedly pushed myself to study as hard as possible. For a long time, I felt tense.

The pressure of preparing for TOEFL made that tension more noticeable in the second semester. Fortunately, my classmates were kind and supportive, one of the reasons I love BAID. I will always remember the large cake they prepared for my birthday. In June, I attended a Westlife concert with my classmate Jiang. Looking back, those small acts of friendship sustained me through a demanding period and helped me feel at home at BAID.



Gradually, I began adjusting my routine and focusing on each day's work. I systematically practiced with past TOEFL papers to become more familiar with the questions. I even bought a keyboard like the ones used in the exam to improve my typing speed. On weekend walks in the park, I listened to TOEFL recordings through headphones to become more comfortable with spoken English.

Alongside my coursework, I prepared for the next stage of my studies. I worked through The Princeton Calculus Reader independently, preparing thoroughly for Grade 11 calculus and developing a regular study routine.

By the end of Grade 10, my TOEFL score had reached 107, and I was consistently among the strongest students in my class academically. The changes in my first year at BAID came gradually, through patient adjustments made day after day.

Part 02 · Grade 11: Choosing a Direction

The summer before Grade 11 was enjoyable and rewarding. I attended the Future Global Leaders (FGL) summer program at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

The program's busy schedule gave us plenty to learn. At its conclusion, we collaborated with students from different backgrounds on a final presentation. This required us to reflect on the course material and develop our teamwork and leadership skills. Over two weeks, I met classmates and teachers who shared my interests and gained a clearer understanding of engineering.



The second semester of Grade 11 brought a rapid change of pace. It was the most challenging semester of high school for me, and the one in which I grew most. I set clear goals: enter more competitions and achieve good results, prepare applications for research summer programs, and improve my SAT score quickly. Eager to cover every possibility, I entered several competitions within a few months while preparing for TOEFL and SAT. This left me very little time to prepare properly. As results arrived, I faced repeated disappointments. I began doubting my abilities and struggled to see any return on my efforts.

A long conversation late one night helped me reconsider. Ms. Liang Xiao, our Head of Grade, contacted me in the early hours, and we talked at length. She respected my goals and helped me review my activity plans. Entering numerous competitions, she explained, suited some students; other approaches could offer more consistent progress. She encouraged me to concentrate on systematic study or an extended research project.

Her words reassured me, and I felt cared for. After that conversation, I began directing my efforts differently and found an approach to further study that suited me.

The following summer, I contacted a professor at Beijing Normal University and joined a project on predicting celestial orbits. I explored deep learning methods for modeling and analyzing the problem. Research required me to begin with a question and work through it step by step. I proceeded more slowly and carefully, and we soon achieved some preliminary results. I also regained confidence in academic work and became clearer about my interest in physics and related engineering fields. Meanwhile, I planned my preparation for standardized exams more realistically and recovered a regular study routine. Before application season, my scores had reached my targets.

Looking back, I understand that progress can take time to appear. Finding a suitable direction and pace helps me work more effectively and make consistent progress.

Part 03 · Application Season: Learning Patience

When application season began, I systematically reviewed my experiences from the past three years. My habit of keeping records had preserved my feelings and reflections, along with the changes I had experienced. Taken together, those individual moments helped me understand myself more fully.

Those records helped me trace my interests clearly when writing my application essays. In my essay for UIUC, for example, I wrote about my understanding and love of physics. That interest had developed gradually through three years of learning and exploration at BAID, becoming clearer as I gained experience.

By then, patience had become something I practiced in each new attempt and adjustment. For someone who relies on hard work, learning to respond to difficulties is as important as working harder. I learned to trust that I could regain control of my routine when challenges arose and maintain my motivation while I was still finding a direction.



Part 04 · Acknowledgments

As I look back on these three years, I am especially grateful to the people who supported me at different stages.

I thank my teachers for their guidance and care. Ms. Liang Xiao's conversation with me late that night came when I felt most uncertain and helped me recover a sense of direction. Ms. Ren Jing taught me AP Physics C: Mechanics in the first semester of Grade 11. She patiently answered every question I asked, creating an environment in which I grew more confident about thinking independently.

I also thank my classmates. I feel fortunate to have belonged to G12C4. Our study tours and spring outings, along with everyday moments together, are among my most treasured memories of these years, as are the faces of the people who shared them.

Thank you also to my College Counselor, Ms. Tian. Her ideas and guidance during the essay writing process helped me express myself more clearly.

Finally, I appreciate the peaceful corners of our campus. The swing on the lawn often gave me somewhere to pause and clear my mind before returning to my work.

Thank you to my teachers and classmates, and to the family members who accompanied me throughout these years. May we each have the time and space to move forward independently, at a pace we can sustain.