2018

Frenemies at a political debate at UCLA. Camille worked for the opposing campaign..

2nd time attending women’s march in LA with Alexandra

Made an appearance on the big screen with my dear friend Abbey. Both of us unhappy with how many chins we have in this picture

Red-eye from SF to the General Assembly at United Nations…

Coached the USC team to a 1st place Ethics competition victory over UCLA, UC Irvine, CSU Fullerton, LMU, and a few other schools.

In 2018, I

documented my life on IG/Snap stories,

lost my grandpa & the campaign (on the same day),

switched from Canon to Sony,

retired from Big West Rotaract,

made a bunch of videos,

officiated a wedding,

went to Stagecoach,

& is anticipating some big changes ahead..

(Story below)

My annual escape somewhere to be alone with my thoughts. @ Big Sur, CA

Appeared in an ad for Senator Feinstein’s reelection campaign :)

27th Birthday party at the InterContinental

Jaycees throwing an easter party for a group of foster kids

Demoted! After 3.5 years of being at the helm of this organization.

Teddy’s birthday! Poor thing is going through some painful medical procedure :/

2019 Royal Court with Mr. Ee. This will be my last year working with the court in the foreseeable future.

2018 Big West Rotaract Conference - Portland, OR

Over the years, I worked really hard to train myself to only worry about the things that I can control and spend no time on things that I can’t. When I don’t get something I want, be it an interview, a client, a date, or going somewhere, I always tell myself that there’s always next time. This mindset of abundance was challenged in 2018.

Back in 2017 on thanksgiving week, I took a 3 day trip to Malaysia to see my grandparents. I spent 48 hours in transit and 72 hours in Malaysia. My friends and family there thought it was a waste of money to travel 8,000 miles just for a quick hello. When I said goodbye to my then already barely-conscious grandpa, I told him that I will have to return to LA and focus on work, & that I won’t be back to see him until the election is over.

Fast forward to June 5th, 2018 - after a hard fought campaign, John conceded around 11:20pm, the team went out for drinks until about 2am, and I got home to the news that my grandpa had just passed away at 3am. Coincidence? maybe. But I sure am glad that I took that ridiculously short trip on thanksgiving.

Due to jet lag, I spent a lot of nights wide awake thinking and writing about things. Late one night, I walked over and found my dad asleep on the chair next to his father’s coffin. That moment felt so vulnerable. For the first time in a long time, I felt that life was finite.

The thing about funerals is that it gives you time to catch up with people and have conversations you don’t usually have. Knowing that I was going to visit Toronto, I asked my dad about his journey leaving the small town/village at 17 years old and starting school in Toronto. I wanted to know how he dealt with the uncertainties of going to a place thousands of miles away from home and not speaking any English. I wanted to hear the stories about his disagreements with grandpa about his career path and the opportunities that he wish he had taken. I was once again reminded of the blessing I have: to be empowered to pursue my dreams with the unconditional support of my family.

June 2016 - the last time grandpa was healthy enough to hangout for dinner.Glad to have lots of memories of him not suffering from sickness :) — June 2016 - the last time grandpa was healthy enough to hangout for dinner.
Glad to have lots of memories of him not suffering from sickness :)

This was taken in Las Vegas - I was working in our hotel room and he just sat there quietly so I asked him to tell me (again) how he met my grandma. Probably his favorite story to tell.

(Weird pivot to a different topic - but this one is important.. )

On Friendships…

This year, I noticed how terrible I am at telling my friends how to be there for me. My fear of disappointment has led me to have very little expectation of my friends. Because I have so little expectation of my friends, I am never disappointed. Because I am never disappointed, people think that I don’t care. Over time, I have kept all my friends at a certain distance.

In January, I was catching up with a friend from Australia. She asked if I thought that I had meaningful friendships because I never let anyone get too close to me. I told her that i’ll soon find out because a bunch of my friends are getting married. The day after, Briana and Harrison asked me if would officiate their wedding. I think the timing of it all is one of the reasons why the officiant role made such a huge impact in my year. I took this opportunity to reflect of love, friendship, and companionship and promised to myself to get better at letting people into my life.

Thank you, Briana and Harrison.

Beach day with the kids @ Redondo Seaside Lagoon

On influence…

Many of you know that I document my daily life on Instagram and Snapchat stories. I show about 30% of what I actually do every day because the remaining 70% are things like shower, actually working, and being present at events, meetings, dinner, and dates. What I didn’t realize is that there are now people who have followed my day-to-day journey for the past 3-4 years. I need to be more thoughtful and responsible for the influence I have on them. I’ve been asking around to see what people want to see.. overwhelmingly, the kids I work with want to see more of my “bad days” because sometimes when I share that I have a rough day, it makes me so much more relatable. I don’t really have many bad days & when I do, I quickly snap out of it.

I guess what i’m trying to say here is that I don’t take this privilege lightly. I understand why teenagers, especially those with a chip on their shoulder, feel relatable and close to me. I’m still learning on how to become a better role model..

I’ve never been in a better mental and financial state of my life. And yet, something feels off - a little like that feeling I had back in 2016. I continue to do all the meaningful work - mentoring, giving, speaking, etc but..

I think it’s time for a BIG change :)

To my family and friends, THANK YOU.

If you made it all the way here, shoot me a text to say hi? +1 (626) 244 6747

otherwise, this is probably just all for my #1 supporter.. Hi mom!

Onward,