WHO YOU ARE REALLY MATTERS

I came from a place where you can hear the sound of motorcycle and mountain bikes zip by you every day, a place where when you walk out in daylight and the humidity of the air feels as if you were walking into a sauna, a place very different from where I am now. This place I call home is Taiwan, Taiwan is very different from Los Angeles, as soon as you step out our Tao Yuan international airport you can immediately smell the thick humidified air and see dozens of yellow cabs asking if you’re interested in a ride into the city. I love every single little thing about my home but coming from an island country it felt almost inherit that I needed to get out of the country as soon as I was old enough. I left the country to pursue who and what I wanted to be and that is an independent individual that can stand and be on their own without someone holding their hand every step of the way. I realized that by living in a foreign country and getting out of my comfort zone became the best way to achieve my goal. I was very similar yet very different from my parents, I have the same business passion as my dad but yet don’t have his risk averse trait. I have the same emotional sensitivity as my mom but don’t have her impulse of jumping into conclusion. I am also different from the both of them in the sense that I enjoy nature activities and love to travel. I would say I used to be under my parents expectations and would make decisions in the past just to make them proud. However, the older I get the more I start to make decisions for myself. The person who has always served as a model to me was my favorite basketball player Allen Iverson. Allen Iverson showed me that you can be comfortable under your skin and just because you’re different does not mean that it is a bad thing. People target individuals that are different, individuals that are unique and it was Iverson that showed me that it is ok to be who you are. The wild animal I feel most connect is the Gray Wolf, Gray Wolfs are highly social animals that live in packs while the alpha wolf decides when the pack will hunt and when the pack will travel. I am a highly social person and at the same time I like to also think that I can lead and make decisions myself. My most significant memory with a tree was this one time I went on a road trip with my family in Taiwan and on our way we saw a group of tourists surrounding this hundred year tree. My mom told the driver to stop while we joined the group of tourists to gaze at this massive tree that just seemed like the branches were reaching into the clouds and just when we were about to leave a piece of flower landed on my head. One of the tourist said that flower landed on my head was a kind of flower that only grows from the highest branch and according to old tales if the flower lands on someone it means that they will have good luck for the days to come. I took the flower home and did not leave the house waiting for the luck to happen even though nothing did happen. Then everything dawned upon me, I realize that luck does not reward people who stay at home but for people that go out and let life give you the opportunity to receive that luck.