Live
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” — Mahatma Gandhi.
Little did I know at the age of 11 that hearing these words by Gandhi would change my entire perspective on life. As a kid, to me, this meant doing as much as I possibly could in a day and studying hard in school, but there was no true underlying meaning. However, as I adopted this mentality and was faced with the challenges of growing up a student-athlete-entrepreneur, I shifted my mindset to truly live each day as if it were my last, and to learn as much from every person, opportunity, and experience as possible. It allowed me to find my passions, set goals, and work towards creating an impact at a young age, which has led me to where I am today.
Fast forward about a decade, and these words continue to fuel and push me to reach my personal and professional goals while harnessing my drive of wanting to create an impact on those around me. I believe that the journey I’ve been able to embark on as a student who’s passionate about creating an impact on those around me while making the most of every experience in my life has led me to develop numerous interests and passions. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the world, play competitive sports, learn musical instruments, and value time with family and friends, all of which have played a huge role in getting me through this global pandemic.
I think it’s super important to understand that we are not defined by the challenges that face us, but how we deal with these challenges and what we learn from our failures because it is those crucial moments of pressure that shape our minds, and which prepare us for our next journey.
For me, the biggest challenge has always been learning how to live a balanced life on a consistent basis. I often find myself getting caught up in a particular domain of my life, whether that be getting ‘tunnel visioned’ by work or getting so involved in an initiative I forget about my other priorities, and this often leads to unhealthy habits. Over the pandemic, one thing that I’ve learned to do which has drastically helped me be aware, recognize, and adapt to this tendency is checking in with myself periodically. I make sure that if I were to momentarily remove one aspect of my life, I would be happy with how I’m doing in the other domains. For example, if I noticed myself spending a giant chunk of time at work, I would ask myself if I’m happy with the relationships I’m making with those around me, if I’m happy with the time I’m spending with my family, girlfriend, and friends, and if I’m making time for my passions and staying healthy. If the answer were to be no to any of these questions, I would re-evaluate where I’m spending my time and move forward accordingly.
The Cansbridge Fellowship
Think different.
Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world…
… are the ones who do.
If this sounds familiar, you may recognize it as being Apple’s slogan back in 1997. However, when I heard about the Cansbridge Fellowship back in September from 2020 Fellow Allen Chen (who helped me tremendously throughout the process and showed me how amazing the Fellowship really is), my mind immediately went to this slogan, in particular, the following line: ‘The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do’. I truly believe that the Cansbridge spirit and mentality embodies this quote to its core, and every individual in the Cansbridge Family has one commonality: a passion and drive to make a change. This is a community of innovators and changemakers, all driven by their individual passions, but who come together as a whole to serve each other and the broader ecosystem. I am beyond grateful to be part of this community, to learn from the fellows, and give back in new, creative ways. The Fellowship has already given me a sense of belonging and provided me with such a strong support system, and I’m excited for the months to come.
Unfortunately, this summer my plan of living and working in Asia through the Fellowship was canceled as a result of the global pandemic. However, I was fortunate enough to secure a domestic internship working at SAP as a Value Advisor on the Intelligent Spend Management team. I have gotten the opportunity to work on exciting engagements, meet people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, and broaden my understanding of the technology landscape on a global scale.
I want to give a huge thanks to the founder of the Cansbridge Fellowship, William Yu, and to the Cansbridge Fellowship onboarding committee for welcoming me into their community, as well as Mitacs for their continued guidance throughout the last couple of months. In addition, I would like to thank Brenda Brouwer, the Interim Dean of the Smith School of Business, for her ongoing support throughout this entire process. I’m excited to grow with my fellow cohort and make life-lasting memories along the way!
