Someone once told me that life has these 7-year cycles. Every seven years, we reinvent ourselves and a new chapter unfolds. As I look back on the 1st day of a new year of 2022, I notice my life have been interesting, challenging, and rewarding…
(Skipping the early childhood)
1992 - 1999
I was prepping to move to the States by the end of 1992.
It was my first time leaving my home city, leaving my mother, leaving my childhood friends and flying on a plane. It was exciting yet super scary. I was unsure what to expect and what might come next…
Culture shock, new people, new experiences, foreign language and learning curves… It was very hard… On top of it, I had to live with people I did not want to live with. It was very challenging for almost 3 years in San Francisco.
I moved to Los Angeles for college in 1995.
This was the period of time I really needed to grow up. Not only I started college, I had my first job at a restaurant. Meeting new friends from work and school, I experienced adulting for the first time in my life. After my sister left the country, I had my first roommates and paying rent (also for the first time).
To live in LA, one job simply wouldn’t cut it. I stepped foot into the retail world and it was the beginning of my retail career.
1999-2006
It was the first time I lived with a partner… Learning how to be in a long term relationship and how to live with someone. There were many ups and downs in my career as well as my relationship. In my 20s, those were truly the time to experience, learn, adjust and adapt. Mistakes were made (many of them) and lessons were learned. Amazing people have come into my life and I felt blessed.
I met many of my closest friends during my twenties and I ended up moving in with one, who has become a sister to me. We laugh and cried together and we understood when to leave each other alone after a long hard day.
2006-2013
I have always focused on my career…
Where can I go and how much can I achieve? How can I make an impact on what I do?
I worked for many companies in my retail journey. Home furnishings, skin care, candles, candies, baby products, clothing, garden tools and furniture, shoes and leather goods, stationery…
I have gained different knowledge from each company and these knowledge will forever stay with me. As my product knowledge continue to grow, I have also learned how to become a better and more effective leader.
Opportunities were there… with the right mentors who believed in me…
I moved up from supervisor, to assistant manager, to store manager, to west coast visual manager…
Clearly that took many years and many companies to get there.
It was truly a blessings to meet and worked with all the amazing talents.
With the raise of my anxiety, I decided to speak with a professional. John, my therapist had helped me tremendously… Finding myself, loving myself, understanding myself have become my priorities. I also realized ART is the key to keep me focused, centered and calm.
I also moved out to live on my own for the first time of my entire life.
2013-2020
While I had my down moments with my career path by the end of 2013, new doors opened for me… It took a good year to figure out what my next step was.
Moving to a new city and taking on a new role, new opportunity…
I have learned that “I can work so hard and excel even more”! I truly enjoyed my achievements, yet I had no life. I lost myself and did not put myself first again. Reaching 40s has awakened myself…
Where am I going from here? What am I doing with my life? Why am I doing this to myself?
I noticed that many people out there don’t appreciate my contributions at the end of the day.
I lost yourself by doing and doing and keep doing… And it led me nowhere.
With everything that happened last year… the retail doors seemed to have shut.
As uncertainty hit me, my true callings somehow presented itself right in front of my face.
2020-
This new chapter has given me new strengths, new outlooks.
I recognize my own capability. My years of knowledge have helped me to move forward… yet, my talents have always been there. Encouragement and support from others lead me to keep on pushing.
I am doing what I love, capturing the images with my visions and DNA. I want to tell those stories of others. Doesn’t matter if it is architecture or humans, I create those compositions with my passion…
I aim to better myself, continue to learn and create. I am choosing to only surrounded by people with positive vibes. I believe in myself and looking forward to do great things in 2022.