I don't usually do New Year's posts and I don't do lists, but it's a new year, so I can do what I want. So here are things I learned in 2014:
1. Taylor Swift is invincible. All I'm gonna say is...I told all ya'll haters all those years ago. You know who you are. But its okay, cause I'm just gonna shake it off~
2. I, on the other hand, am not invincible. Getting older sucks. Some genes don't work as well and the dawning realization of that feels like doing the ice bucket challenge.
3. Science is hard. I guess this one shouldn't be such a surprise, but device development or undergraduate research is very different from being responsible for original peer-reviewed research that has a chance of being impactful. I realized the reason why the degree is called a doctorate of philosophy is because hypothesizing into the unknown is more philosophical than it is scientific. Science is only the applied form of philosophy.
4. Fobs are cool. This is probably kind of terrible to say, but despite always having had a lot of Asian friends, I always identified as more American than Chinese and couldn't really relate with immigrant Chinese people (aka "fobs"). But a summer trip to China, an all-Chinese lab, and some new in-laws may be awakening my inner fob.
5. Planes are really freaking scary and sneaky and can disappear off the face of the earth. Especially Malaysian ones. Pray before ever flying through Southeast Asia. "Lost" is forreals, folks. Pray for peace for the families affected.
6. In the past week, I learned of the deaths of the two people that were among the most inspiring people I've had the privilege of meeting. I wasn't very close with either of them, but the news hit just as hard, because of their age and the lives they lived. One was David Yue, one of my favorite professors in college, who passed away from a sudden cardiac arrest. The other was a girl named Johanna, in her 20s, who lived at an orphanage I visited in China over the summer, and passed from a heart attack. Dr. Yue's extraordinary contributions to science and teaching and Johanna's incredible persistence through her physical disabilities and leadership at the orphanage were overshadowed only by their relationship with God. The gifts that God gave them could not have been more different, but they allowed God to use them to the fullest. This is all I could hope for in my life. Above all of this, however, is the continued reminder of the sovereignty of God, which requires faith in His goodness, that He may call any of his children back to Himself at any time.
7. God is good, faithful, and unlimited in power. This year I saw my parents come closer to God than I ever would have even dared to imagine. The same is true of other friends, family, and myself. I realize it sounds somewhat cliche, and it should probably stop being such a surprise, but it never does, and I hope it never will.
Happy New Years.
1. Taylor Swift is invincible. All I'm gonna say is...I told all ya'll haters all those years ago. You know who you are. But its okay, cause I'm just gonna shake it off~
2. I, on the other hand, am not invincible. Getting older sucks. Some genes don't work as well and the dawning realization of that feels like doing the ice bucket challenge.
3. Science is hard. I guess this one shouldn't be such a surprise, but device development or undergraduate research is very different from being responsible for original peer-reviewed research that has a chance of being impactful. I realized the reason why the degree is called a doctorate of philosophy is because hypothesizing into the unknown is more philosophical than it is scientific. Science is only the applied form of philosophy.
4. Fobs are cool. This is probably kind of terrible to say, but despite always having had a lot of Asian friends, I always identified as more American than Chinese and couldn't really relate with immigrant Chinese people (aka "fobs"). But a summer trip to China, an all-Chinese lab, and some new in-laws may be awakening my inner fob.
5. Planes are really freaking scary and sneaky and can disappear off the face of the earth. Especially Malaysian ones. Pray before ever flying through Southeast Asia. "Lost" is forreals, folks. Pray for peace for the families affected.
6. In the past week, I learned of the deaths of the two people that were among the most inspiring people I've had the privilege of meeting. I wasn't very close with either of them, but the news hit just as hard, because of their age and the lives they lived. One was David Yue, one of my favorite professors in college, who passed away from a sudden cardiac arrest. The other was a girl named Johanna, in her 20s, who lived at an orphanage I visited in China over the summer, and passed from a heart attack. Dr. Yue's extraordinary contributions to science and teaching and Johanna's incredible persistence through her physical disabilities and leadership at the orphanage were overshadowed only by their relationship with God. The gifts that God gave them could not have been more different, but they allowed God to use them to the fullest. This is all I could hope for in my life. Above all of this, however, is the continued reminder of the sovereignty of God, which requires faith in His goodness, that He may call any of his children back to Himself at any time.
7. God is good, faithful, and unlimited in power. This year I saw my parents come closer to God than I ever would have even dared to imagine. The same is true of other friends, family, and myself. I realize it sounds somewhat cliche, and it should probably stop being such a surprise, but it never does, and I hope it never will.
Happy New Years.
