Who I am and who I wish to be one day.
I'm 18 years old and I'm heading off to university in the fall @UofT for math and physics. 2020 has been one of the most unpredictable years of my 18y/o existence. So I'm not exactly sure where life will take me but I'm optimistic about what's to come.
I believe in getting three things right in life, meaningful work, meaningful relationships, and meaningful experiences. The idea of what's 'meaningful' would need a more rigorous description but I believe that by living by these three maxims, I'll work towards a joyfully fulfilled life.
For something to be meaningful, it has to be something that I can look back on and feel fulfilled to have experienced it. Although what's meaningful is obviously subjective to one's taste, I personally find things fulfilling if it involves a desirable goal, a challenge and a process of overcoming the challenge. This can be something that has profoundly challenged me to grow professionally or an experience that has built a long-lasting relationship.
I believe in immortal machines. I believe in making long-lasting positive impacts in my area of interest that will go on to outlive my existence on Earth. Although my work doesn't need to be universally profound, I do believe in working on things that push the boundaries of human thought. Even if it's just a slight nudge. Doing things for the sake of doing them is the antithesis of where I wish to be.
I want to work in academia. Specifically in physics and astronomy by leveraging the power of computing to make discoveries and push the bounds of our understanding of the universe, even if by a minuscule margin.
Currently, I'm working on building a computing pipeline for Berkeley SETI to search for life beyond Earth. To me, this is a profoundly meaningful experience that I hope to continue in the future. I love the community and work I get to do.
I hope in the next 5-6 years I'll continue to work in the SETI community with both the Berkeley team and helping out with Dr.Doyle's work with SETI Institute. I want to be an expert in this field. Other than SETI work, I also want to work with Nanograv and LIGO in detecting gravitational waves. It's something I find technically challenging and exciting.
My English teacher once told me that every interesting story we've ever told is either about 1.) a hero going on a journey, or 2.) about a mysterious character coming into town. Everything else is a variation or combination of the two. I still can't find an exception to this theory.
I want to do things for the story. I want unique experiences that I can look back on and feel humbled, grateful, and fulfilled from having lived that life.
For starters I want to experience the natural world, I have lived a life sheltered from it but I find its beauty intoxicating. To experience the natural world is both challenging and humbling but 100% worth it's hardship.
In 5-6 years' time, I want to alpine climb and summit at least 1 mountain above 4000m elevation [Mt Rainier]. I want to partially thru-hike CDT or PCT at least >300km of the way. I want to rock climb on a big wall in Cali and do this with meaningful friends who are into experiencing the world with me. I want to build my independency and feel confident to live by my own means. One of the greatest existential insecurities in life is our inability to survive without the social and technological foundations that make our lifestyle possible. I want to change that.
Finally, I want to experience areas that are socially and physically challenging. My philosophy teacher went backpacking in Vietnam to live with farmers for free in exchange for planting rice in the rice patties. For him, it was one of the most eye-opening experiences, and it's something I also wish to experience when I get the chance. I live such a sheltered life and I hope to change that one day.
I believe one of the reasons why I'm alive today is because of the friends and family I have in my life. During some of my most self-destructive phases, I found the only things that tied me back to this life was the family and friends I have. I'm grateful for that.
I want to rediscover the country where I came from. I've lived in Canada my entire life without experiencing life in China. I haven't seen my grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc for 10 years. As I'm beginning adulthood, I want to bring back the ties with the other half of my family. I know I'll regret it if I didn't.
I hope to stay with my parents and take them along with me in my journey so I can provide for them and be there for the people who've been there for me when I needed them the most. I know I'll be busy but I'm consciously making an effort to be with them. I'm their only child.
I want to have interesting experiences with my friends. I want to build long-lasting relationships through the trials and tribulations through these experiences [see experiences section]. I'm generally content with a few close friends.
On a surface level, I want to meet cool and interesting people. I want to be in an environment that challenges me. Ideally, I want to be in a room full of smart people that disagrees with me. This is why I chose to put myself through university, specifically the University of Toronto.
I hope that by sticking to my three beliefs of meaningful work, meaningful relationships, and meaningful experiences I'll be able to live an interesting life that is profoundly meaningful and fulfilling.
One day I hope to call myself a physicist/astrophysicist who looks for aliens and gravitational waves and chill with friends and family while conquering mountains, trails and everything in-between.
I don't believe there will be a defining point as to when I'd achieve all my goals. All I know is that I'm enjoying every bit of the journey getting there.