To love another person is to see the face of G--. (From Les Mis, though I am not religious)
/My time in high school
Attended high school in the
1980s
Overall high school experience
8/10. Mostly happy feelings about friends and academic experiences.
Grades in high school
Mostly A's
Favorite subjects
English, Science
Struggled with...
Math - I didn't feel very excited about it. And sports - I was terrible at all sports and PE!
Favorite extracurricular
School newspaper
Life since high school
Attended college / university at
Stanford
Post-graduate education or training
Medical school at UCSF
Places lived in US
California, Connecticut, Washington, Massachusetts
Places lived outside the US
Just for semesters abroad - in England
Current occupations / past occupations
Mother - most important occupation! Also, academic university professor.
Industries I've worked in
- Health Care and Social Assistance
- Educational Services
Did your education prepare you for your career or occupation?
Yes
Has your education or career/occupation trajectory ever changed? How?
At one point thought that I would pursue a career in History but decided to switch to study Medicine.
A little introspection...
To me, being successful means...
Feeling that my life has meaning and being truly calm and happy.
My definition of success has changed over time.
Less focused on attainment of specific accomplishment milestones.
My greatest accomplishment to date and what I’ve learned from it
Having a successful marriage (so far) and being in the middle of raising three children. These experiences have taught me humility and that much of life is beyond my control - releases me from a sense of having to do everything perfectly. I am a university professor and the balance that having a family has given me has been essential in being happy and not too stressed by my job.
My biggest mistake or regret so far and what I’ve learned from it
Staying in a relationship through college and after and almost marrying someone, then breaking it off while we were engaged. I lacked the confidence and the insight to be honest much earlier on in the relationship when I was not happy.
An unexpected event that significantly changed my life and how it impacted me
Unexpected sudden death of a very close uncle when he was 42. I saw for the first time how transient life is. I also found for the first time how much I could contribute to the lives of others by spending time with my cousins who were small kids at the time. It gave me a real sense of how life can be meaningful and how I could realize it was important to be alive for others.
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My favorite spot in or around Palo Alto
Cho's for pork buns!