Don't Stop, Push it Now

I don't have a very good lead-up to the next lesson. Sorry. I'm really tired (this half-marathon training is killing me slowly. Something's always hurting. My feet throb, my ankle's sore, my shins hurt, my knee is bothering me, my calf is tight, my back is out of whack...I feel like an old person. I did an eight or nine mile run on Monday and today I could barely get past two...ugh. I don't know HOW I did XC in high school. Seriously. Maybe because I was so much younger back then...Props to all the dedicated badass runners out there. Such machines.), AND I have to work tomorrow, Sunday. Boo. So I'm gonna try to write this and hop in bed early.

Without further adieu,

Lesson 3: Always try to take risks and challenge yourself.

When I look back on my life, I see a few moments that I am very proud of because I chose to follow my heart (cheesy, I know, but your daddy is a true emotional-ist), and that oftentimes included taking a big risk.

My first big general risk and challenge was all of high school. I think the end of middle school and all throughout high school is when I started to blossom and really start finding myself a bit. In elementary school I was an awkward, geeky Asian kid with a hefty weight problem and then an awkward, geeky Asian kid that was oddly very skinny in middle school (I would later attribute the reason to my orthodontics--my teeth hurt so bad I HAD TO starve myself. That, and I grew a lot and the fat probably just more evenly distributed itself). High school, like the porridge for that sneaky bitch Goldilocks, was just right. I decided to break out of my shell a bit and spread my legs...haha just kidding, spread my wings, and really put myself out there. I met my bestest friends in high school, did things I never thought I would, and found my passion for journalism. This is very vague, I know, but high school was a great maturing and self-discovering process for me, and I think I owe it all to trying to create a new slate and just being positive about an opportunity that could help me become a person I'd like to be.

The second risk/challenge (rallenge?chisk?) was deciding to pack up and move to New York for school. For very obvious reasons, I see this as the biggest life-changing event in my life. I moved across the country to a city VERY different than Renton, and spent the next four years there. If I hadn't moved there, I don't think I would've grown as much or in the same way. I fell in love with that city, and I am so appreciative of my decision (and all the support) to go there. I was presented with so many opportunities and was able to learn so much and got to experience a city in a way I never would have otherwise (and got to live in Prague for a semester which was also a big PLUS! You better study abroad). And moving away from home really set the bar for me to be open to change and moving in the name of being ambitious and furthering myself.

That leads to chisk three. Moving to the Bay Area. I left my heart in New York, but a second out-of-body heart is growing here in San Francisco, too. It was so hard to leave and sometimes feels even harder to be here because even though I'm so close to home...I'm not there. People always ask if I plan on moving back to Seattle, and the answer is usually always "no." It's not that I hate my family or my friends--it's quite the opposite. But I have lofty goals for myself and I don't see myself accomplishing them there. Seattle is an amazing and beautiful city that I'm sure harbors plenty of opportunities, but it doesn't feel like home in the same way New York and San Francisco do. I just don't know how to explain it. I'm probably giving a very biased point of view, because the fact of the matter is, I feel out of touch with Seattle past the amazing people I know that live there. I haven't given it a fair chance, I know. But at this point, I like it in San Francisco so much and miss New York the same amount that I don't know if I can give Seattle the chance it deserves. And that is a huge challenge in itself. Knowing where you want to be, and knowing where you belong. There probably isn't a right answer for that and it may take a while to find out. Heck if I know where I want and should be. Sometimes I yearn to fly back to the east coast and be in the Big Apple again, sometimes I miss my family and friends so much I'd be happy to book a flight home and stay forever, and sometimes I enjoy the Bay Area so much that I decide I'd be content staying here forever--and sometimes I get the urge for something new yet again. There's so many risks and challenges involved in moving. I get afraid that I will lose touch with my friends, that they'll progress without me, and I have always hated being away from my family, especially my sisters/your aunties. But you always have to stop and think that you're doing all this for the betterment of yourself. What you choose to do, should be a risk or challenge--that's what makes it worth it. I ball my eyes out whenever I fly to one of these cities because I hate leaving, but I also know leaving is worth it. Granted, I probably would be just as happy and successful staying in one place like Seattle, but I don't know if I would want to change anything. I'm happy with the life I've lead so far and I'm so happy to have the support of everyone around me. And that's another thing--make sure the risks and challenges you endure are backed by your family and friends--that also makes it worth it...and survive-able.

Andddd, this whole lesson was inspired by the fact that I had to work tomorrow, because for the first time, I will be writing for several of Sunday's newscasts. Something I have never done before. I'm excited, really nervous, but I'm up for the CHALLENGE. AND THE RISK. And I know it says a lot about who I am as an employee for stepping up to the plate and doing it. So huzzah! Learn my child, learn!

So I know that's a lot to take in, but I'm sure when the time comes, you'll know when to apply this knowledge.

Alright, like I said, your pops has to work tomorrow, so I'm finishing up this post now. See what I do for you? I write late into the night to educate you, even when I have to work on a Sunday. You better appreciate the hell out of me. And I mean lavish gifts and treating me like a king when I get old.

Love you!

P

The Sounds - Tony the Beat