Live Out Loud

As an information-driven recap of the year: here are the cities I’ve slept in, the airports I’ve arrived in or departed from, and the books I read in 2018. This post was inspired by my colleague and friend Amy, who has been doing this annual recap since 2011. Her recap includes shows she saw and races she completed, and I adapted mine accordingly. Cities I slept in  Ann Arbor, Michigan Da Nang, Vietnam Hoi An, Vietnam Hue, Vietnam Karawaci, Indonesia Melbourne, Australia Osaka, Japan Portland, Oregon Seattle, Washington Seoul, Korea Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt Singapore West Palm Beach, Florida Airports I traveled through CAI CGK DAD DTW EWR HKG ICN JFK KIX PBI SEA SIN SSH Books I read   Born A Crime Boundaries Boys In The Boat David And Goliath Difficult Conversations Everybody Lies For Men Only For Women Only From The Corner Of The Oval Gift Of Loving Yourself Grit Hidden Christmas Hit Refresh Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus M

As I close out 2018, I am hopeful for.. continued work in a profession that makes me feel alive opportunities to help others flourish, both in my personal and professional life ways I will continue to grow, as I make mistakes and experience discomforts the things I will discover as I relate with others closed hearts to slowly open up the quiet whispers of my heart to be recognized and fulfilled joy experienced in partnership the slow but sure progress towards my physical goal of doing pull-ups one day Inspired by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's 2018 Annual Letter, titled  What We're Hopeful For

Whenever friends would ask about what kind of partner I'm looking for, I would recite a short list of non-negotiable's and a medium list of nice-to-have's. I never minded sharing my non-negotiable's (shared values, spiritual maturity, someone who enjoys their work but doesn't find their worth in it), but I felt shy about my nice-to-have's or personal preferences. Who was I to be so picky or particular, especially if they weren't "important" enough to be deal-breakers? Recent interactions have had me re-evaluating the weight of qualities that I had not thought much about before. For example, I never thought that I valued a common enjoyment of food, until I met someone who admitted he "eats to live" (vs. me, who clearly lives to eat). Even though I had previously noted this as merely a preference, I realized I had unsaid expectations of how I envisioned my life and ministry. It would be a pity to not have someone share the joys of eat

I never identified much as the "courageous" type. When a colleague commented to me on Friday that she thought I was courageous, I was prompted to re-evaluate what I thought courage was. The next day as I was reading Malcolm Gladwell's book, I stumbled across a portion that revealed a lot about my (incomplete) view of courage. Here is a snippet  from Gladwell's book titled  David & Goliath, p 149: "The conquering of fear produces exhilaration. The contrast between the previous apprehension and the present relief and feeling of security promotes a self-confidence that is the very father and mother of courage. Courage is not something that you already have that makes you brave when the tough times start. Courage is what you earn when you've been through the tough times and you discover they aren't so tough after all." I don't think taking the uncommon path is easy for anyone, but there are people who are overwhelmed by the fe

'If money, reputation, or others' opinions didn't matter, what would you want to do?'  This is how I ended up in my field and what I feel called to, at least for now. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if I stayed in marketing, but days like today remind me of why I do what I do.  There are a lot of things that remain the same about my new job and my last job: I get to work with university students and employers. Do both career advising and program management. Work in the interest of a higher education institution and its (non-profit) mission. Be a part of a fast-paced, diverse, and collaborative team culture. As I dive deeper into my role, I realize there are also more differences than I initially thought: Student population is more diverse (undergrad, master's, PhD), and attracts a different crowd at a public university.  My advising has more of a subject matter focus working with students admitted to a professional program vs. bro

Back in May 2018, I had a chance to share with my church family.  -  As I wrap up my three years in Singapore, I would like to share some of my closing thoughts as many of you have played an integral role in my life here. There were three main reasons I moved out here back in 2015: A) I wanted to help build a new institution in a new career field . The student-facing role  has not only been fulfilling but life-giving, allowing me to represent more of my full-self in a professional setting.  B) I wanted to work on my relationship with my family in Korea, and being closer in proximity was one intentional way to keep myself accountable. God has given me more wisdom and boldness to share more of my life with my earthly family, in ways that I have learned from my spiritual family.  C) I wanted to be a part of HMCC again, to help it grow in a different part of the world. When I first came I thought I would be here to give, but have received so much more instead.