zest for life
from bean to sprout: a few things I’m grateful to have experienced
before i was a real human bean
- Training in mixed media visual art for 8 years
- Reading stories I wrote to my friends on the playground during recess
- Making all the kids at the Asian family gathering crawl around on all fours and pretend we were the Warriors cats together. I was the clan leader, of course
- Playing the piano at 4, flute at 10, & cello at 12. Classical music is my time machine
- Hiding in my closet at night to type stories on my laptop
- Performing with my piano trio at Lincoln Center at 13
- Studying abroad in South Korea at 15. Living with a host family for 12 weeks. Not knowing Korean. Learning slowly.
- Having my first kiss on an airplane over the Pacific at 15
- Rowing at 5am every weekday on Tempe Town Lake for a summer
- Studying amyloid beta plaques and pulmonary arterial hypertension in wet labs
- Spending my Friday and Saturday nights at debate tournaments in high school like a proper nerd
- Letting out a giant yawp at the peak of Finsteraarhorn in the Swiss Alps
going to college, a half baked bean
- Meeting my best friend within an hour of arriving at Duke. We had a sleepover that night
- Backpacking the tallest peak in Central America (Volcan Tajumulco in Guatemala)
- Doodling out of catharsis during the pandemic (exhibit a)
- Accepting, at long last, that I have agency
- Spending five days alone in SF just drawing landmarks that appealed to me (exhibit b)
- Serving as Duke’s first East Asian student body president and co-creating a mentorship program that’s been institutionalized for 5 years now
- Begrudgingly learning to golf because my mom said it’d help me hang with the finance bros. Ending up loving it
somewhat grown bean living in the big apple
- Memorizing Caffe Panna’s hours of business (Tues - Sun, 1:30p - 9:30p. Used to be Wed - Sun, but they expanded, God bless)
- Quitting my corporate job 10 months in to join a team of 12 dudes building bond trading technology
- Running the NYC marathon 9 minutes faster than planned
- Spontaneously backpacking Glacier National Park
- Building a solar powered battery pack for backpacking
- Convincing my best friend to spontaneously backpack Yoho Valley and Banff National Park
exhibit a
exhibit b
zest + pith: some little things about me
When I was 15 I dyed my hair red (huge mistake). But it’s still my favorite color. For a year in college I wore at least one red article of clothing or accessory each day and carried a huge red water bottle. People said they could spot me a mile away.
I have an enormous sweet tooth. Especially for ice cream, cake, and cookies. We’ll be instant friends if you do too.
I suspect I have a low grade addiction to music, and I grow increasingly ADHD as I age, which doesn’t seem fair.
My friends describe me as earnest, warm, ambitious, feeling, intense, soft, disciplined, and weird.
I’m a classic case of jack of all trades, master of none, and I reckon with that every day.
I never feel more alive than after a run or when talking to intense people and we’re feeding into each other’s intensity.
They say I have my late grandfather’s eyes.
I’m unreasonably proud of my Garmin watch tan.
I can’t remember the last time I didn’t cry at the movies, even if it wasn’t sad.
I spend a lot of time thinking about how to deliver the most impact with the skills I have. I love working on really hard problems with really smart people. I believe the best problems to solve are revealed when following one’s most authentic curiosity. It will either deepen or a stronger one will arise.
Sometimes I feel like an SF tech bro cosplaying as a New York woman. Occasionally it’s the reverse.
home
exploring
gallery
writing
about me
contact
zest for life
from bean to sprout: a few things I’m grateful to have experienced
before i was a real human bean
- Training in mixed media visual art for 8 years
- Reading stories I wrote to my friends on the playground during recess
- Making all the kids at the Asian family gathering crawl around on all fours and pretend we were the Warriors cats together. I was the clan leader, of course
- Playing the piano at 4, flute at 10, & cello at 12. Classical music is my time machine
- Hiding in my closet at night to type stories on my laptop
- Performing with my piano trio at Lincoln Center at 13
- Studying abroad in South Korea at 15. Living with a host family for 12 weeks. Not knowing Korean. Learning slowly.
- Having my first kiss on an airplane over the Pacific at 15
- Rowing at 5am every weekday on Tempe Town Lake for a summer
- Studying amyloid beta plaques and pulmonary arterial hypertension in wet labs
- Spending my Friday and Saturday nights at debate tournaments in high school like a proper nerd
- Letting out a giant yawp at the peak of Finsteraarhorn in the Swiss Alps
going to college, a half baked bean
- Meeting my best friend within an hour of arriving at Duke. We had a sleepover that night
- Backpacking the tallest peak in Central America (Volcan Tajumulco in Guatemala)
- Doodling out of catharsis during the pandemic (exhibit a)
- Accepting, at long last, that I have agency
- Spending five days alone in SF just drawing landmarks that appealed to me (exhibit b)
- Serving as Duke’s first East Asian student body president and co-creating a mentorship program that’s been institutionalized for 5 years now
- Begrudgingly learning to golf because my mom said it’d help me hang with the finance bros. Ending up loving it
somewhat grown bean living in the big apple
- Memorizing Caffe Panna’s hours of business (Tues - Sun, 1:30p - 9:30p. Used to be Wed - Sun, but they expanded, God bless)
- Quitting my corporate job 10 months in to join a team of 12 dudes building bond trading technology
- Running the NYC marathon 9 minutes faster than planned
- Spontaneously backpacking Glacier National Park
- Building a solar powered battery pack for backpacking
- Convincing my best friend to spontaneously backpack Yoho Valley and Banff National Park
exhibit a
exhibit b
zest + pith: some little things about me
When I was 15 I dyed my hair red (huge mistake). But it’s still my favorite color. For a year in college I wore at least one red article of clothing or accessory each day and carried a huge red water bottle. People said they could spot me a mile away.
I have an enormous sweet tooth. Especially for ice cream, cake, and cookies. We’ll be instant friends if you do too.
I suspect I have a low grade addiction to music, and I grow increasingly ADHD as I age, which doesn’t seem fair.
My friends describe me as earnest, warm, ambitious, feeling, intense, soft, disciplined, and weird.
I’m a classic case of jack of all trades, master of none, and I reckon with that every day.
I never feel more alive than after a run or when talking to intense people and we’re feeding into each other’s intensity.
They say I have my late grandfather’s eyes.
I’m unreasonably proud of my Garmin watch tan.
I can’t remember the last time I didn’t cry at the movies, even if it wasn’t sad.
I spend a lot of time thinking about how to deliver the most impact with the skills I have. I love working on really hard problems with really smart people. I believe the best problems to solve are revealed when following one’s most authentic curiosity. It will either deepen or a stronger one will arise.
Sometimes I feel like an SF tech bro cosplaying as a New York woman. Occasionally it’s the reverse.
home
exploring
gallery
writing
about me
contact