You might know him as the freshman who took Multivariable Calculus, demonstrating unfathomable academic prowess. Or maybe you recognize him as a fellow rower. Perhaps you’ve seen him as a clarinet player or bassist. But what does junior Jerry Liu’s life really look like?
Contrary to popular belief, Jerry doesn’t spend every second of his life studying. That said, he does study far more efficiently than most people. Surprisingly, he even dabbles in gaming, grinding away at challenging bosses in “Black Myth: Wukong” or queuing up for “League of Legends” with friends when time permits. He mentioned he used to play “Valorant” but eventually gave it up. While one might expect Jerry’s knack for processing information to translate to gaming mastery, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Somehow, Jerry lacks the “common sense” instincts the average gamer has, which could stem from his limited exposure to gaming before Peddie. (Ironic, considering many of us likely became more academic over time.)
Beyond his math skills, Jerry is an impressive bassist. He began playing in his sophomore year after forming a band with friends. Since then, he’s progressed rapidly, mastering techniques like slapping and grooving through his favorite bass lines. While he doesn’t practice as frequently, he rehearses with the band most weekends. Remarkably, Jerry developed hearing loss at a young age, yet excels at playing two instruments. “Honestly, it doesn’t impact me that much, except that I can’t match pitch well. It’s just like, I don’t have that pattern recognition,” he says.
His intellectual talents are impressive, but so is his physical strength. When asked about his muscle-up journey, Jerry shared this:
“When I was a freshman, I was a puny little young boy. I could only do like 10 pull-ups and 30 push-ups. Those were my initial base stats. Then, I saw someone flying off a bar on YouTube, which motivated me. By the end of freshman year, I did a muscle-up. Every time I went to the gym, I did drop sets of pull-ups — from normal to jumping to Australian — and then, boom, I did a muscle-up. But then I stopped training because I was too focused on math and rowing. At one point, I couldn’t even do 10 pull-ups. After not training for a while, I randomly tried a muscle-up — and nailed it. It was probably because we trained muscle-ups for rowing.”
Jerry is currently taking a Princeton math course called Real Analysis. Having conquered Peddie’s math curriculum by tackling every challenge the department could offer, he continues to push boundaries. Reflecting on his experience, Jerry noted the stark difference between university and high school classrooms. Universities, he said, are much more impersonal, and he only knows a few people well enough to eat lunch with. However, the lectures are fascinating, and Jerry is grateful for the advice he receives from his professor.
If life were a “Dark Souls” game and everyone allocated their skill points, Jerry said, “Some definitely went into intelligence,” traded for his hearing. Yet, if given the choice, he’d allocate them the same way again. He offers two pieces of advice:
- Work hard if you want something badly — just like in sports or academics.
- Be content with what you have.
“I think that’s why I don’t get sad that often,” he said. “If something happens, so be it — that’s life. Life’s a sinuous path, full of peaks and tensions. Just accept how things are and move forward. Yeah, live life with little regret. If you’ve already done something, why regret it?”
