Zhou · 16
Pre-surgery
Connection · Mastery · Trust-worthy
Three qualities she hopes to grow into.
What These Words Mean
Connection
Zhou hopes to become someone who feels more natural and confident around other people. She does not see this quality as something she already fully possesses. Instead, it represents a direction she wants to move toward as she grows.
Mastery
Zhou’s relationship with drawing reflects a quieter kind of persistence. She began drawing casually when she was younger, later received formal instruction, and continued largely through self-directed practice. She learned by noticing mistakes, receiving feedback, revising her work, and gradually improving over time.
At one point, she even imagined becoming a freelance illustrator. Although that plan has changed, drawing still reflects something important about how she approaches growth. She is willing to stay with something, keep refining it, and develop real depth over time.
Trust
Being someone others can trust is another quality Zhou chose for her future self. The interview does not include a detailed explanation of why she selected this word, so it is best understood simply as a quality she hopes to embody in the future.
A Different Side of Her
Zhou described herself as having a kind of outsider quality. She feels that the way she appears on the outside does not always match what is happening internally.
She was drawn to a fictional character she felt shared this quality, someone distinctive and somewhat difficult to understand at first glance. This seems to reflect her awareness that people can contain sides of themselves that are not immediately visible to others.
Zhou also described herself as persistent, sometimes even stubborn. Once she decides that something matters to her, she tends to commit fully and keep going regardless of how much effort it takes.
Her Future Self
For Zhou, the future is not simply about becoming more accomplished. It is about becoming someone who connects with others more easily, develops real depth in what she chooses to pursue, and becomes someone others can trust.