Let It All Out

I have no idea where life is taking me. That's part of the beauty of everything, and yet as a planner in all senses of the term it makes me extremely anxious a lot of the time. Wouldn't life be so grand if we knew exactly what we were supposed to do at any specific time and place with whichever specific people we need to do it with? "But that's not the way it works." (Oh, how I love Relient K - what a great band!).

I feel like I don't have anything insightful to talk about this week, especially as I have been exhausted  from my looong trip to Seattle and from getting over this slight cold I acquired there. All I have been wanting to do is sleep, and yet this has been one of the busiest weeks of the semester. I haven't even had time to work on my thesis, and all I end up doing in my spare time is sleeping. Even getting outside to run feels like (more of) a chore because everything seems to be working against me accomplishing anything this week. I don't feel like I am getting anywhere, and in fact I feel like I am falling behind; 'tis the life of a graduate student, or so I have heard. And yet, looking back on it, this past week has been one of the most accomplished weeks of my life. Presenting my research in Seattle at the Pacific Sociological Association conference has shown me that I do have what it takes to succeed in academia as well as to make a difference and affect change in this world to at least some degree. I just need to do it! Unfortunately, it seems as if acting upon intentions is the hardest part of life. But isn't that because when we do what we say we are going to do and when we accomplish what we set out to do everything becomes all the more rewarding?

Over the past week, not only have I formally and successfully presented my research in an academic setting for the very first time, but I have also gotten a lot closer to one of my 2011 resolutions: to travel more! I have seen at least one new city this year: Seattle, the Emerald City. What a surprising city full of hidden gems and treasures. I am so excited to have experienced such a "foreign," exciting part of the world that I have never known before.  I still plan on visiting Chicago with Trish in September (hopefully for a half marathon) and London this summer with Tianqi. It really is only hitting me now that I am living out this part of my dreams! Travel has the profound ability to morph a part of ones soul into something entirely new given the sacred and profane nature of the experience one has in any sort of new environment. I wrote my term paper for my Graduate Classical Social Theory class on this aspect of tourism, but that is a topic for another day.

On top of everything else, I have also been blessed this week to prepare for the release of my book, Thais in Los Angeles, which I co-authored with my old boss at the Thai Community Development Center, Chancee Martorell. It comes out on Monday, March 21st (all proceeds go to the Thai CDC, a nonprofit organization which is a major basic needs resource center in Los Angeles and fights human trafficking), and I am so excited to finally be a published author!


I have accomplished a lot in my life, especially coming from my particular background. On my dad's side, as far as I know I will be the first one to have a graduate degree in a family that has only a handful of college graduates. On my mom's side, she is the only one who was able to come to America, and she gave up a lot to leave Thailand. I am reminded every day how lucky I am to have been born and raised in America with the opportunities I have available to me. Today, as I reflect on the successes of this week I realize how blessed I am in life. Counting your blessings does work wonders! Life seems so much more rich and full after such reflection. Meaning in life truly does develop out of a reflection on your lived experiences.