2018 in a nutshell
To describe 2018 with a few words, it would be: femtech, insatiable, balanced, love, and growth.
I spent half of my 2018 in Hong Kong, and the other half in Bay Area. For the first half I was struggling with hormonal imbalance, and the second half I was pondering upon an idea of starting a company in hormonal research (hint: #femtech | myhermones.com).
For half I was a student, and for more than half I was a working professional doing events & talent sourcing at Entrepreneur First HK as well as writing code at Zingbox.
I built HKUST Tech Club with my best friend Jin Young Park and created an offline & online community of 400 strong members via regular weekly student-led workshops and/ or dinners with the help of 李婷婷 Lee Ting Ting, Jeff Hu, Christine Lee and many more talented individuals of HKUST.
I spent many hours with Global Shapers Hong Kong, and started an art & sustainability initiative with May Yeung and John Mak — together we led more than 30 underprivileged students to make tie-dye shirts using used coffee beans & tea leaves as dye! Together we learned that art is not just fun but also accessible and sustainable.
Also I turned 22! I officially announce that from now on birthdays are overrated!
I’ve been described as “feisty”, “beating Kevin Bacon easily by 6 degrees”, and “I thought you had to be at least 15 to work in the US”.
I’ve attended countless SF parties (ZANEAPALOOZA!), went to a lot of free concerts (The Chainsmokers, courtesy of Google Now Conference; Grammatik & Tycho, courtesy of MixMob…), the best music festival ever: Solaura Fest.
I’ve met & reconnected with crazy smart and inspiring women doing great things: Jenny, Shriya, Gemma, Charlene, Hayley, Bianca, Estela, Lavanya and many many more… :)
I’ve also encountered ridiculously inappropriate people (for friendos who know — that certain 4x HealthTech founder) who felt entitled to ask me for outrageous demands… which I can leave this to another medium post ;) <not inserting pic for this :) >
I’ve “expanded my horizons” from one side of the Pacific to another, I’ve been inspired, I’ve been challenged, I’ve been supported, I’ve rejected & been rejected, I’ve started to buy one way tickets, and most importantly I’ve become financially independent. Oh, and I’ve also tried being a standup comedian ;)
2018 in locations: NYC HK, TPE, SF/ Mountain View, SEA, LA/ Venice Beach, DC/ Maryland, and NYC.
I started off 2018 in New York City, and again ended it in New York City. 2017 ended on a high note, and 2018 ended with the greatest happiness and feeling of satisfactory and content. I couldn’t have asked for better humans in my life to share my experiences, to discuss on random topics and to challenge each other to grow day in and day out.
I have nothing planned for 2019, but to spend more time on building communities, researching on female hormones, creating impact and living the life I deserve. I don’t know where I’d be at the end of 2019, but oh isn’t that the joy!
Hugest thanks to my family for being the most supportive, my friends for being my friends, and my boo for being my boo.
Bring it on 2019. I am ready for ya.