Why I March and Why I am Memorizing Over 1500 Digits of Pi When I was three years old, my dad, mom, and I were all excitedly preparing for a new addition to our family--a younger brother. I remember my parents deliberate over his name, before finally settling on Jonah. I remember taking family pictures in the hospital right after he was born, five days after my 4th birthday. I remember coming home with Jonah and my parents, and doing typical newborn baby things like holding him with my parents hovering above, constantly telling me to support his neck. My parents remarked how Jonah did not seem to be as “robust” of a baby as I was. He seemed to cry a lot, and was generally a difficult baby. But it was hard to know if that was out of the ordinary. We did the normal things families do when they welcomed a new baby--sent out email announcements and photos, and planned for the future. In the fog of caring for a newborn, my parents continued to worry and fuss over Jonah, but figured he would have his first week’s check up soon. The morning of the appointment, Jonah seemed particularly listless, and when the pediatrician took his vital signs, the doctor immediately had him admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at CPMC in San Francisco. Jonah’s body temperature was low, and the care team worked tirelessly to keep him warm and well-fed while they tried to figure out the issue. We were so terrified to see Jonah in such distress, but we cautiously optimistic that with the top-notch care that he was getting, he would be fine. After a long day at the PICU, my parents went home to get some food and to check on me and my grandmother. What happened next was such a whirlwind and a fog at the same time. There was a phone call from the hospital. My parents frantically driving back to the PICU, as Jonah’s systems started to fail. Before the day was over, all of his organs had shut down. Nine days after he was born, on August 15, Jonah passed away. It turned out that Jonah had a neonatal viral infection, an enterovirus, a virus common that time of year. Most people would just experience cold symptoms, but a newborn is particularly sensitive to infections. Jonah was just too little to be able to fight it. In a city with the best medical care available anywhere, our family was just incredibly unlucky as there was no treatment or cure. While nothing could have prevented our family’s tragedy, we know how important it is to focus on healthy babies and healthy mothers. Every family deserves the best chance possible to bring a healthy baby into the world, and the March of Dimes is laser-focused on that mission. That’s why I support the March of Dimes, and why I march. Where does pi come in? For the last few years, I have enjoyed memorizing pi to challenge myself. When I was in 5th grade, I heard that the middle school at my school had a pi memorization contest. For whatever strange reason, I decided that I could and would win that contest when I was in 6th grade. That year, the winner had memorized 150 digits. That’s a lot of numbers! When I was in 6th grade, I won the contest by memorizing 396 digits! In 7th grade, mainly because my friends dared me that I couldn’t double my number, I won with 800 digits. And in my 8th grade, the final year, I memorized over 1000 digits. I was proud of my accomplishments, but didn’t know what good having a freakish memory for these particular numbers would do. That is, until my family and I realized that I could use this random skill of mine to shine light on a cause that means a lot to me. Ever since 9th grade, I have supported March of Dimes by raising money for the March for Babies. I was able to raise over $6000 that year, making me one of the top individual fundraisers, mainly by encouraging my friends and family to donate to the cause. As an incentive, my family and I held a “Pi for Babies” event at our home for our donors, where I recited 1256 digits of pi from memory. And of course we ate a lot of pie! Last year, as a busy 10th grader, I reprised my efforts, challenging myself to beat my previous year’s number. We were able to bring over $6000 more to the March for Babies and I recited 1364 digits of pi for our supporters, again while enjoying a lot of pie! That would unofficially rank me as 43rd in the US or 120th in the world according to the Pi World Ranking website! This year, I am honored and excited to be an ambassador for March of Dimes, as I personally know the importance and impact of ensuring healthy moms and healthy babies. My family, after all of the devastation of losing my brother, welcomed my little sister Elise in 2012, who has been marching with us from the start. I plan to challenge myself to memorize at least 1500 digits of pi this year. It may be challenging, but it means so much to me to do what I can to bring focus and aid this important cause and support the March of Dimes, That’s why I march and that’s why I am memorizing at least 1500 digits.