The Birthday Post

Hi friends,

Thank you very much for your kind birthday wishes! I appreciate them very much, and I am truly grateful that every single one of you is part of my life :)

Indulge me as I reflect on my life. After all, I just turned 25 and I deserve to at least pretend that I'm facing my quarter-life crisis ;) I grew up playing a lot of games, and my favorite has always been role-playing games. These games invite us to adventures as make-believe characters, exploring the virtual world while making them stronger and more adept by leveling up and raising status points. The crux is, of course, for the character to become better at what they are doing - knights inflict more damage, wizards cast stronger spells, and acolytes more adept at healing wounds.

If you aren't really into fantasy games, then think of a fresh Computer Science major trying to code in Python, or a twelve-year-old playing the piano for the first time. As time passes, and with deliberate effort, they will be a better Python coder and a piano player respectively - they would have the experience and developed the right skills in utilizing these instruments in order to achieve better results, be it simulating the traveling salesman in linear time (not possible, btw) or skillfully playing fantasie impromptu.

Therefore, I can't help but think if as these years go by, I have been a better player in this game of life. Sure, I may have worked hard and became a better analyst at Cornerstone Research. Sure, I may have "seen the world" and have settled and enjoyed living in New York. Sure, I may have developed a circle of friends who I truly adore and who I can count on. But have I truly become better in life?

Friends, I invite you to think of your own yardsticks of life - tools to measure what life means to you. Meanwhile, let me share you some of mine that I strive to emulate. I saw these qualities within extraordinary individuals that I am tremendously lucky to have crossed paths with:
1. Needlessness. If you think about it, there are very little things you "need" to be happy, and even less so to survive. There's nothing wrong with having preferences and possessions, but the sages I met know that preferences are just preferences, and they don't confuse them with needs. No wonder they are happy all the time!
2. Gratefulness. A curious observation: The most successful, beautiful, and kind souls I have met happen to be the most grateful ones as well. They love, and are grateful, even of the smallest things in their life - the air to breathe, the sunshine, the birds chirping.. Are they grateful because they're happy? Or are they happy because they're grateful? Hmm..
3. Tounge-in-cheekiness. My favorite people around me have one trait in common: They never take themselves (or anything else, for the matter) too seriously. These highly successful and capable people know themselves, but they're never too rigid about their beliefs. These people irreverently see humor in the darkest situations. However, most importantly - they love giving themselves a good laugh! I truly hope I can become like that soon:)

All right, that's all, folks! I am in your care, this year, and onwards. Please come say hi if you ever find yourself in New York, and know that I am very grateful for you :)

Cheerz,