Despite my overall idea, I still like to think that positive and even sometimes small negative interactions can be more meaningful. For example, the interaction between Natasha and Irene in the beginning of the book. As Irene, a security guard at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, checks Natasha at the security checkpoint, Natasha makes her own judgements about Irene without truly knowing her character. She immediately assumes that, to Irene, she is "just another anonymous face, another applicant, another someone who wants something from America" (Yoon 8). This, however, is not true. Irene loves her job, and thrives off of the small interactions she has with the people who come in every day. She is lonely and needs the interaction. From her point of view, she tries to make the effort to be more personable to Natasha but is too scared to do so. Irene is my favorite character in the book because to many people, the people that we encounter on a daily basis aren't a part of our personal lives, so we make assumptions about them or don't even really think about their personal lives. It provides a new perspective on the importance of being kind to everyone you encounter because, for people like Irene, they don't have anyone else to talk to other than those they encounter at work. Her character also adds onto the commentary on fate, as she downloads the song that was on Natasha's phone and finds herself finding comfort in the lyrics. It makes the reader think about their small day-to-day interactions and how it impacts not only them but also others.

I think the main pressure that people face is finding a job that is financially stable. Since we are living during an inflation, money struggles become more and more frequent and the housing prices are barely affordable. In addition, it is hard for a 16-year-old to decide what they want to do for the rest of their life. It seems overbearing to know, what job someone wants to work in for the next 50 years and there is little to no room for changing that decision.

Those pressures are both outside and inside pressures. Society has expectations, parents push high schoolers to go to specific colleges ("I out my foot down and refused to apply to 'Best School' (Harvard)" Yoon 28), money and finances become an increasingly bigger struggle. The inside pressures seem to be fueled by insecurities. 'Am I good enough? What if I fail? What if I am not made for college? Is this truly the right decision?'

The concept of love at second sight, as described by the Japanese phrase, resonates with me more than love at first sight. It suggests that love is not always immediate but can develop gradually as individuals get to know each other better and form deeper connections. This idea acknowledges the importance of time, patience, and emotional compatibility in fostering genuine love and lasting relationships. Overall, while the idea of love at first sight may be alluring, I find the concept of love at second sight to be more realistic and reflective of the complexities of human relationships.

For most young people, they are heavily influenced by the culture they grew up around, when deciding to choose where to attend college and other important life decisions. These cultural influenced could be their family members, but it could also be their friends and community members. If they attend a school that is competitive and academically rigorous, they might feel more pressure to attend a top college and go into a highly paying and respected profession.

Love at second sight is more interesting to think about. I believe in love at second sight, or at least looking at someone and knowing they’re going to play an important role in your life, but not knowing how or why quite yet. Daniel has his mind set on Natasha, yet she needs some more convincing, which is what the first half of the novel is mostly about. The more Natasha tries to tell herself she is not going to fall in love with him, the deeper she falls. In the beginning of the novel when Natasha first goes to the attorney’s office she is upset and hoping Daniel is there waiting for her, when she never told him she wanted him to, and assumed he went on his interview. I think when Natasha saw him there, that was when her mind changed, and started to believe in the idea of love at second sight. It makes more sense for Natasha’s experience to be at second sight rather than first because the novel begins with her explaining that she doesn’t believe in fate or love at first sight.

-Jenna Toto

Daniel said, “If it’s going to be Daniel and Natasha, then dealing with my dad’s racism is only the beginning. But she and I are just at the beginning” (Yoon 182). From this encounter he realized that he does not want to be like his dad or his brother. He is able to recognize racism and wants to be the solution rather than falling into his family's dated beliefs. While this encounter was embarrassing for Daniel, it made him realize who he wants to be as a person.

This encounter also made Natasha understand what her “dream” is. After he left her outside of the store, she said she understands but says, “I want him to choose me”(Yoon 183). I do not believe that Natasha and Daniel ended up together forever. I believe they met each other as a part of a life lesson. The purpose of the open-ended conclusion is to interpret what they gain from the relationship and what they made of their lives after they met each other.

sports. It’s not decent to be good at everything. Three or four things at the

most. Even that is pushing the bounds of good taste" (4). Charlie is well-liked. He's attractive. And he sucks as a person. You have three or so chapters just dedicated to how much Daniel hates Charlie, and then a chapter from Charlie's perspective that confirms that he's right, but doing so by listing off what he does in the future: "But before that, before he becomes a politician and marries well, before he

changes his name to Charles Bay, before he betrays his good wife and constituents

at every turn, before too much money and success and much too much of getting

everything that he wants, he will do a good and selfless thing for his brother. It will

be the last good and selfless thing that he ever does" (11). Strictly from a writing perspective, it's very effective at getting its point across: Charlie will never do a good thing in his life, except for one time, and for it's the same brother who hates his guts. I find it endlessly fascinating.

(Also, this is from an e-book, so the page numbers get a bit weird.)