Most scientists spent time venturing into far-reaching space, voyaging among stars and splendid galaxies.

Fewer scholars dived into the deepest waters, uncovering life below the thin layer that we call home.

The winter Julianna entered her sweet sixteen, she found herself at the intersection between her identity as a Laurel local, and the place she came from. With the help of Eleanor and Darius, she located the current home of her birth parents in a small city near the coast. On a chilly fine morning, a train arrived at the local station, taking herself and her one suitcase. Sitting alone by the window, she rested her head on the back of the chair, watching snow-dotted plains and bare woods alternating rapidly in front of her. With the noise putting her to sleep, she was unaware of how quickly time passed. By the time cerulean blue completely painted the sky, an officer gently patted her shoulder. Miss, we are arriving at our terminal station now. She snapped open her eyes, took her luggage, covered herself up with a coat and took her first breath of the fresh, cold evening air.

Julianna's parents had been waiting for her. They looked peaceful and a little worn; the mother's brunette hair went partially gray. Julianna couldn't help but examine their facial features for a few seconds. Too much time had passed since she could put faces to the two people who gave her life. For many years, the faces were blocked in with blurry colors, like an abstract painting permanently in progress. She had been living a mystery; a part of her memory was banished silently into the land of nowhere. Walking toward her parents, Julianna awkwardly extended her arm and pulled them towards her for a hug. Both parties held their pieces at first; after all, there were so many words and sentiments yet to be exchanged. None of them uttered a word until Julianna's father asked her about the trip. One question led to another. By the time Julianna arrived home, the three people had been chatting normally again, exchanging banters and jokes.

The three stopped at a small building with brown bricks and windows; some of the windows were adorned with fresh flowers residents planted. Climbing up a narrow row of white wooden stairs, Julianna found herself entering a cozy living room with a couple of sofas surrounding a table. There were a couple of photos framed around the walls, either about the countryside scenery, or groups of acquaintances of her parents. However, no picture was about her; it seemed as if she had never existed in her family. Do we still have photos of me in this house? Julianna watched her parents getting busy around the apartment, preparing her to stay for the winter. Her father nodded, waving to her from her bedroom. He took out a key from the lowest stack on the drawer and unlocked the top stack. A pile of photos that recorded young Julianna's daily life was kept in order, waiting to be opened up by an old friend.

When you were still with us, we used to live near the ocean. Do you still remember the time when we took you to the aquarium for the first time? Julianna's dad took out a photo. Julianna instantly recognized the photo as soon as she saw it. It was the copy of the one that accompanied her to the Miller household. Sitting in her father's arms, the young Julianna rested her hands on the glass wall, extending her neck to see the jellyfish clearly. Her eyes were fixated on the round, glossy creatures that twirled their tentacles, and her mouth turned into a small "O". MOON JELLYFISH. Two bold words were written on an introduction board on the nearby glass. At that moment, she was absorbed into a translucent world, completely oblivious to the people walking in the background.

Julianna's mother walked into the room and told Julianna more things that happened in her past. When small green leaves loaded the twinkling branches every spring, other children were busy gathering around the swings and slides. The young Julianna would sit far away from them, watching the leaves fall, the birds travel across the sky, and her peers moving around, like groups of dots coagulating and separating. During a school trip to the beach, everyone made sandcastles by the seashore. Others giggled as they piled sand into a funny, coarse castle, and made faces at their friends when the castle was taken away by water. Julianna stayed back, alone, carefully crafting the walls, towers, and windows of her work. When the waves finally came to take her castle away, she stood there in tears, watching her work get devoured by the inevitable force of nature.

You wondered and loved asking questions. And you were always looking for an answer. Have you found it yet?

That summer when Julianna went to the ocean with Eleanor and Darius, she finally got a chance to meet the animals she used to read about in her books. Being in the ocean felt like flying high up in space. The laws of physics loosened their grip on her as she gently rolled her body in the water. She felt the weight of her whole body unloading from her. Every fiber of hers became synchronized with the rhythm of the water. There was no noise, and all that surrounded her was a world of tranquility. She touched the rough, textured surface of the rocks beside her, and watched small fish passing through the gaps between her fingertips. The barrier between her and the sea creatures dissolved; the flat images of fishes, mammals, and coral structures she used to touch with her were brought to life.

When she came back onto the sailboat, she watched the sea take on its various forms. Before she came to Laurel Prep, she only examined the sea from afar by crunching numbers and analyzing samples. Now, she saw other colors of the usually blue ocean. When the weather was fair, the tranquil sea would become one with the sky above. When a storm came, the storm rocked the boat; heavy rain splashed on the boat deck like thousand beads falling into the ground. However, the sea was most beautiful during a clear sunset. The small boat gently sat on top of this moving mirror of light gold. Some people would start cooking dinner, some would play the guitar, and some would dive into the sea for fun, watching the white waves spread around them. Every person was immersed in such happiness.

At night, everyone sat around the beach and told stories. Julianna loved talking to those people; however, she left early and walked alone to the beach. Putting her towel near the rocks, she dipped her toes into the small waves by the shore, feeling the water wash away the sands under her feet. It was at that time she remembered that she had always been with the ocean. She walked into the ocean and stood under the silver moonlight, watching her blue hair float in the cold waters. Many years earlier, when she was still yet to be born, her parents were at the same place, holding hands, calling her name, waiting for her to come into this world. Under the dark velvet sky, the waves extended into the horizon, as if they could sweep away every trouble in the living world. The emotional monsters that once became jellyfish and octopuses faded away from Julianna's grasp.

At that moment, she had found her answer.

Lisette result day will be coming soon. I don't know if I will get in or not. But even if I don't get in, I will be dedicated to learning more about the ocean throughout my life.