Same Same But Different

Today, I drove the same streets, walked through the same halls, up the same stairs, sat in the same rooms, saw the same people, but things were different...and I believe I'm better off for it.

Somewhere Else

Maybe in a different time and a different place, we could have been perfect for each other.

Mortality

"The Gods envy us. They envy us because we're mortal, because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again." -Achilles from the movie Troy

The glory in doom. How many things would never go undone if we knew we could live forever?

I've recently talked to someone about younger adults finding out they have cancer. A friend's friend found out recently and only has til the end of the year. My other friend also found out and is coping with it now. I always ponder the question: If I was dying, would I want to know?

Cancer could be a blessing in disguise (not saying i want it), but it pushes you to take off your superficial sunglasses and SEE...you finally SEE what are truly the most important things in life. It pushes you to invest your time in the things that matter the most, to spend time with your friends and family and nourish your relationships, to travel and see what you've always wanted to see, do everything you've wanted to do, and just F everything else. I would want to know. I would want to know and spend my last moments doing everything I thought was truly worthwhile instead of pursuing the temporary.

"We're young, we'll live long, we have a long time"...It's when we take time for granted that we waste it.

We don't have forever...and we treasure everything much more because we don't have forever. It's nice to be human, to be mortal.

I challenge you today to do something you think is worthwhile.

Write

I want to write. I want to reflect. I want to think. I don't want to be a zombie going through the motions and tasks of the day, everyday, only a person that crosses tasks off her daily checklist. I want to be a person who lives and breathes and thinks and feels and cares and shares.

Back in the US

Hi everyone,

I just got back to the US on Sunday from Vietnam, and I'm currently staying at my family's place in Anaheim, CA (Southern CA below LA). Since then, I've attended Jury Duty (even with jet lag), helped out at my family's printing shop in Garden Grove, and visited the Bay Area. I'm actually still here (It was a spontaneous trip), and I'll probably be in the Bay Area until Saturday 9/12, so if anyone is interested in hanging out, please email me back or call me at (714) 829-8808.

I just graduated in May from UC Berkeley with a double major in Public Health and Psychology and now that I'm back from Vietnam, I've been applying to nursing schools (3 year program to become a Nurse Practitioner) and applying for jobs. If anyone knows of any jobs related to public health, community health or health education, especially in Southern CA (but I guess I can't afford to be picky), please let me know. I also have a resume if you can or would like to forward it for me.

My Experience In Vietnam
As for my experience in Vietnam, I was there on a 2 month language-intensive program called VASI (I highly recommend it). Attending Vietnames eclass everyday. I not only learned a lot of Vietnamese (language) but also learned morea bout the current social issues in Vietnam including laborers moving from the rural area to the country side, Vietnamese women marrying foreign men, sex education, governmental support for people with disabilities, and a lot more.

It's been a great experience, and I've gotten to talk to meet two awesome organizations and interview locals in Vietnam that has really given me a different perspective on Vietnam.
1) I learned about the medical system here by touring hospitals, talking to doctors and patients, etc.
2) I got the opportunity to meet children affected by HIV through an organization called Nụ Cười (Smile in Vietnamese). Some friends and I taught English to them, visited them, and took them to a zoo.
3) For my final project, I researched policies for people with disabilities in Vietnam. I was really inspired through my college job as a personal assistant for a student with muscular dystrophy. I met an awesome person who runs Cơ Sở Mùa Xuân (Spring in Vietnamese), an organization/home housing 30 females with disabilities. They provide a support system for each other, encouraging each other to be independent and self-sufficient and they help each other find a job. I met one amazing person in particular who swam in Parigames (like Olympics for people with disabilities in Southeast Asia) who trained so that she could fund her university education, majoring in English.
4) I also got to interview blind masseuses who studied at the School for the Blind.
5) I interviewed an HIV-infected patient and got to ask about the prevention and treatment methods there.

After the 2 months, I got to travel and hang out with friends. I'm truly grateful for this experience to go back, learn about and explore Vietnam through the VASI program, my teachers, my friends, and locals. Now I'm excited to be back in the US and reunite with friends and family.


Reply or call me and let me know what you're up to too!