Inspiration | Duke Poster Child
I know it may be tacky to quote myself, but I recently wrote a piece for my alma mater Duke University, and it was selected for publication as part of their “Major Impact” campaign on campus. I posted it yesterday on facebook and was truly overwhelmed by the positive response from my friends.
My letter is a story about pursuing my passions and creating my own path, and it’s a glimpse at my college career. You can read it by clicking below:
In hindsight, I can trace it all back to those formative moments in college when I hopped off my pre-med track and decided instead to design my own major in documentary studies and Asian American studies in Program II. It was then that I learned two important lessons: the first about creating yet unimagined futures, and the second about utilizing and leveraging your resources.
I also wanted to revisit two of my related personal posts from the last couple years. Every so often, I take a little side trip from the pretty pictures and delve a little deeper to share a bit of where I’ve been and where I hope to go. I love that so many people have reached out to tell me they’ve connected to my story. I am amazingly blessed to live this life that I love, and it’s an incredible privilege to be able to share it with you.
Creating a new path had nothing to do with what I wanted to do, but how I wanted to live. Balance. Control over my own time, variety in my schedule, and daily explorations of the world around me.
The thing that I wish I knew about failure is that it is not simply the thing you have to overcome on your way to success. It’s not always “try, try again” or “learn from your mistakes.” Instead, failure is often the deep, dark staging area from which you have to build your success.
As some of you may know, I am actually headed to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, today. It is my five year college reunion this weekend, and I will be reveling in waves of nostalgia, reuniting with close friends, frolicking about the gothic wonderland, and stuffing myself silly with southern food. Fellow Blue Devils, let me know if you’ll be in town. I would love to meet up!
Image credit: Jamaica Woodyard Gilmer
Makeup: Julianne Chai, Pretty By Julianne
