Watch out, China, I’m coming back.

While I love my job at TMZ and am thoroughly enjoying my new life in Los Angeles, in September I will be leaving for China to carry out my proposed Fulbright research project for ten months. In what may be seen as a complete opposite track from my current career route of Miss Universe/Hollywood/TMZ, I will be researching the education of underprivileged children in rural China, specifically analyzing and documenting the stories of selected individuals who have overcome adversity in their lives and become successful in their endeavors.

I’m really excited. Not only because I now have the opportunity to go back to Dalian and reacquaint myself with the city that raised me, but more importantly, I feel like I now have the chance to actually make a difference. Not that I don’t think covering Lindsay Lohan’s probation violation hearings is important (I am not being sarcastic), but this is just something that I have always wanted to do.

I’ve included the personal statement I that submitted to Fulbright with my grant proposal in this post (after the jump). This Fulbright is important to me for many reasons; this is one of them.