May 2012
2 posts
4 tags
The Internet is Ruining Our Brain →
A graphic designer came across one of my posts from a while back that referred to the article “Does the Internet Make you Dumber”. He asked me to provide feedback on a graphic that his team was creating on the topic. This is a subject of particular interest to me (in the past 2 minutes, I’ve already navigated between various tabs twice) so I of course agreed.
The graphic...
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Lately I’ve neglected my candid soul-bearing writing style for a more professional kind. Socialynne, more or less, has become my new home for self-proclaimed deep ponders. Overall, it’s fun. At its worst, I ramble officiously about startups and New York like I have a clue. At its best, it’s forced me to learn about a field outside my comfort zone. It also helped get me a job in...
April 2012
1 post
6 tags
What's your story? →
An interesting exercise worth trying.
March 2012
6 posts
4 tags
2 + 2 =
Everyone is jumping on the storytelling bandwagon. I say that not in condescension, but in gladness. Before KONY 2012 went viral and was touted as a new media sensation, storytelling was already recognized as a crucial vehicle for awareness. Done well, it made all the difference between Hollywood classics versus duds, election winners versus losers, lasting brands versus unknown obscures.
...
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Dear Instagram- With Love, Alice →
I first heard about Alice Lee last month through Twitter. Amid a flurry of 140-character statements, the headline about a Wharton student skipping class and deserving a job at Instagram caught my eye. Instagram? Skipping class? My mouse honed in. I arrived at Dear Instagram - With Love, Alice, a website with pretty cursive typeface floating daintily among clouds on a clear blue sky. Like a love...
The Purpose Revolution →
Think finding your passion is overrated? Meet Amber Rae and Nathaniel Koloc. They are determined to change your mind.
If you ask for their help, don’t expect a list of interest-based questions. They aren’t trying to figure out what you like to do. Their approach is more intrusive – perhaps a little uncomfortable – but radically honest. With a simple “Why?”, they bypass job titles and cut to to...
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End of the Old World →
On Thursday, I launched a new series for NextGen Journal, a platform featuring voices of the next generation. My column is called End of the Old World. While melodramatic in name, it is hopeful in outlook. We celebrate those with ideas and solutions. Despite the messed-up economy, the young broke and beautiful can create their own opportunities. Each week features a pioneer between the ages of...
Bold Academy Applications Are Open →
College students, listen up. GREAT OPPORTUNITY.
heyamberrae:
The landscape of higher education is about to change.
Too many college students are carrying diplomas that speak nothing to their true potential.
Too many recent grads feel confused about what to do with their lives and how to contribute to something meaningful.
That’s why we’re building…
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Support the little ones.
I never knew how tough it could be to say goodbye to a business. My boss closed a restaurant in Harlem on Wednesday. Hoards of people came to pay their respects with a glass (or two or three) of wine, toasting to the restaurant’s 4.5 year run. It was a sad occasion, though by the number of people who came out (standing room only) you wouldn’t have guessed the economy was so bad. If...
February 2012
3 posts
8 tags
Friend Crushes
“Nothing of me is original. I am a combined effort of everybody I’ve ever known.” -Chuck Palahniuk
Though this tramps rudely on my artfully formed identity, it does remove some of the pressure. I am a skilled shopaholic only because my middle school friends would berate people who left the mall empty-handed. (Thus, my impressive amount of debt now can only be attributed to...
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College, Part II
I was at a networking event the other day, mostly for the tasty hors d’oeurves and the opportunity to imbibe free drinks, but figured I’d entertain some awkward conversation so my freeloading wouldn’t be so conspicuous. When someone approached me, I’d hurriedly finish my chewing (lest the silence be deafening) and begin talking mouth full with a load of quiche...
CREDO
1. I believe the next generation is charged with the challenge of gracefully coalescing with a rapidly evolving world,
2. I believe the current status quo in institutional education does not equip us with relevant tools to meet this challenge, nor does it produce the best version of our selves,
3. I believe in devoting our technological resources toward tackling this disconnect, by...
January 2012
4 posts
Thinking.
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A Manifesto
To those who read the following in its entirety, thank you. This is not intended to be a monologue but a conversation. In an attempt to practice the collaboration I write about, I welcome all comments- positive or negative - because they are the only way to combat my individual bias. Regardless, thanks for entertaining.
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I sit at my computer periodically to...
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Is it Serendipity, or Life?
Have you ever thought about how certain people entered your life? Not why, but simply how. What event planted the seeds for that life-changing friendship? Partnership? Love?
The answer is often as mundane as, ‘I had no choice. We were forced to work together on a group project.’ Or as awkward as ‘We both really liked cats and were the only ones who had nothing better to do than...
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Moving In, 2012.
Not for me. On New Years Day, I officially moved to New York. So far, it’s been a dream too good to be true; part of me is just waiting to wake up. Fortunately the Chrysler building proceeds to stare back from the window every morning. For now, I’m still in a sweet sweet dream.
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I came to the city last month...
December 2011
1 post
4 tags
My 2012 Theme Word: Forward
Last year around this time, I dubbed 2011 the year of flight. I meant that in all positive respects. Literally, I wanted to take off and explore more of the world. Metaphorically, I wanted to escape my comfort zone. The overall goal was to not be bound to anything too familiar that limited my potential.
Well, I flew for sure. If 3 months romping around Europe teaching English to Italian kiddies...
November 2011
1 post
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Thanks for Thanks: Chapter 3
Thanks for the obvious: family, friends, food.
Thanks for the subtle: hard times, resilience, faith.
Thanks for a mobile body and a functioning mind.
Thanks for the five senses, awakening the moment.
Thanks for the carefree existence I’ve been afforded, a luxury not often allowed in this frazzled world.
Thanks for home and all its comforts.
Thanks for art and its ability to...
October 2011
1 post
5 tags
Thanks, for birthday cake: Chapter 2
When my sister Wendy turned 6, she received two unexpected pieces of news. The first was that she would no longer have her own birthday cake. This was heartbreaking, because it meant she’d have to share. As if it weren’t enough that there were already a million other people born on September 29, stealing her spotlight on her special day, she couldn’t avoid this cake-stealer....
September 2011
4 posts
6 tags
Thanks, Across Cultures: Chapter 1
I remember the day I met Jacek Holzwieser. He thought I was someone else, I thought he was just another ignorant European boy.
It’s funny how our first impressions often veer so far from the truth. In the case of Jacek’s and my meeting on that sunny Singapore afternoon, we instinctively gravitated toward our respective cultural stereotypes. As I greeted this blonde-haired blue-eyed...
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This is not about me. More than 3 months ago, I made the decision to stop blogging because I needed to stop looking within and start looking out. I wrote, “My experiences in Europe will be mine alone.” Now that I’m back, I can truthfully say- THEY WERE. But is that all? Am I crazy to think that 3 months of travel- that’s 88 nights in 21 different beds - being laid to rest...
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June 2011
1 post
4 tags
This is my last post for a while.
I declare this with all the certainty of an A.A. graduate who soberly vows to never drink while holding a glass of wine. That’s as certain as my certain gets.
Writing is my drug. As with everything, writing is productive in healthy doses but counterproductive in extremes. For the past month, I made a point to write every single day, whether privately...
May 2011
14 posts
7 tags
Life, Post-College →
My editorial on NextGenJournal: ”College, Graduation, and Reality- The Real Education Awaits.”
I understand that others may disagree. Everyone’s college experience is different. But in the spirit of discussion, I’d love to hear your opinion, especially if you’re a college student in another field, about what your college education means to you.
...
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Perspective
News of the recent tornadoes is devastating and breaks my heart. Mom and I have been glued to the TV, staring in shock and terror at the utter apocalyptic destruction towns like Joplin have experienced.
So, here’s a different perspective. A couple days ago, Mom turned to me after watching a little too much CNN and said (in Mandarin), “Have you ever wondered if our natural disasters...
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Legacy
I’m not an Oprah child by any means. As a kid, I watched her show maybe once every few weeks but was honestly more immersed in dweeby stuff like spelling bees and beanie babies to care about such weighty topics like self-empowerment.
However take one look at Oprah and even the biggest of cynics cannot deny her far-reaching influence. Her fan club borders on cultish- an empire of people...
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Lessons from the King
…China King, that is. Alas, my two week stint at Tennessee’s most established Chinese fast food joint has come and gone as quickly as the syrup oozing from its sweet honey chicken clung to my skin…and senses. Off my appetite for an undercover ‘worker’ lifestyle goes, dissipating with the rising steam of the chow mein, which is sure to be gobbled soon by the next batch...
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Slowly Losing Our Minds →
“The generation that had information, but no context. Butter, but no bread. Craving, but no longing.”
Twitter makes us stupid. Thoughts?
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Kayden Horwitz: The Time-Value of Wisdom →
kydn:
If you have the option of receiving a hundred dollars today or the same amount in one month, a rational person would choose to receive it today. Money is worth more now than in the future because you can use to it to earn interest in the meantime. The time value of money underlies all our…
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Tiger Mania
I was a little annoyed with the hubbub over Amy Chua’s Tiger Mom book and never felt compelled to comment. Different parenting styles for different folks, people. Isn’t that called diversity? Don’t we profess to accept that?
The most recent “Paper Tigers” piece by Wesley Yang in New York Mag caused me to roll my eyes once again. So, it was a surprise when I...
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ode to my mother
This Mother’s Day post comes a day late, but gratitude and love for one’s mother should not be limited to a specific day anyway.
The phrase, “My mother, my mirror- - oh my!” floated around the Twittersphere yesterday. I smiled, because it perfectly describes my thoughts on the evolving relationship with my mother. The more time I spend with Ma, the more I find myself...
4 tags
A Real Education
I mowed the lawn today. To others this isn’t a huge deal but to me, it is.
This is because at home, I’m not one to exert much energy. I come home to sleep, eat, doodle, and follow Mom around. For once, though, I’m here for an extended period of time- not a week or two or three, but several weeks into the unforeseeable future. (Or at least through June 14, when I depart for...
Don't Date a Girl Who Reads →
“You, the girl who reads, make me want to be everything that I am not. ”
April 2011
4 posts
5 tags
If I were to be a writer...
I’d follow the philosophy of Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love:
“I created my own post-graduate writing program, which entailed several years spent traveling around the country and world, taking jobs at bars and restaurants and ranches, listening to how people spoke, collecting experiences and writing constantly. My life probably looked disordered to observers (not that...
Question Mark
1.1.11- How can I maintain momentum without forgetting to live in the moment? This is the challenge and opportunity of the year: to create sustainable growth in all areas while retaining a core sense of identity.
It’s funny how quickly we forget our purpose. I wrote this on New Year’s and close to 3.5 months later, I’ve completely forgotten that this is what I’m out to...
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Charities Turn to Twitter to Boost Fundraising →
My ABC article on using social media for social good. 150 cities raised more than $500K for local charities during this year’s 3rd annual Twestival on March 24, proving that social media is about a lot more than being social. What a joy it was to write this story!
March 2011
8 posts
“I was at the counter and it was my turn to buy a ticket when I reached down to...”
– Lotto winner Mike Barth describes the rather lucky situation that led to him buying the $319 million winning ticket for him and the six other members of his office pool. Still no word on exactly who the 8th unlucky person was who opted out on putting in for tickets that day. (via abcworldnews)
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Letters
When I go clueless, I look back…in my inbox. Old letters offer a surprisingly candid portrait of my past priorities and desires. They may be outdated, but there must be a reason why I thought certain things in the past.
I have a virtual pen pal of sorts. I’ve never met him, but we’ve found common ground in sharing ideas. It’s been a while since we’ve talked (er...
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Non-Wisdom
With graduation in exactly a month, I’d be lying to say I haven’t been obsessing about my lack of plans post-college. I am waiting to hear from a couple things I applied for, but the outcomes aren’t really what I’m worried about. The problem is much more deep-set. Regardless of the program, job, or title, and whether I ultimately accept or reject, I don’t know if...
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Surveying an Unvarnished America →
“America. It can be inspiring and beautiful. It can be dark and ugly. It’s so many things- but it’s ours.” - Lisa Ling, in ‘Our America’
Has anyone watched this show on Oprah’s Network? I haven’t but it sounds interesting. I love the voyeuristic concept behind the stories. Exposing some of America’s most undercover subjects- that’s...
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Twestival - Using Social Media for Social Good
Last week, I tried a social experiment of sorts. Its purpose: to gauge the amount of sway I have on Facebook.
My status on St. Patty’s Day was about a local charity. I encouraged my friends to like it. For every thumbs up, I would donate $1 to the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation- Gainesville’s designated charity for this year’s Twestival.
Within an hour, I had received 30...
Happiness is Overrated →
This article discusses some interesting points about short-term happiness versus long-term well-being.
Eudaimonia should be the goal- not hedonism.
“Maybe mistakes are what make our fate… without them what would shape our...”
– sex and the city
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Thoughts before I embark on a trip with 4 of my best gal pals to NYC. We’ll all be heading our separate ways in a few short months so it should be a wonderful last hurrah.
Four 21-year olds set loose in the city? This could be bad. And by bad,...