chapter four

as a new, final school year starts, there's a lot of reflecting to do, a lot of questions to ask.

what have i accomplished over the past three years?

people tell me i've done a lot more than most college students. i've been to china a few times and spent almost a year there in total. i'm near fluent in chinese, one of the most difficult languages for an english-speaker to learn. i've grown a lot as a person, made friends, lost friends and i've found things i'm passionate about. before i came to college, i didn't really know what i wanted or who i was; i was an uncarved block. much against zhuang-zi's sagely advice, i've carved myself into the person i want to be, and i'm still carving.

what do i want to accomplish?

my first priority is figuring out what i want to do starting after may 2011, when i graduate. for the first month or two, i'm taking a much needed break. i have money saved up from high school graduation (never had time to spend it with chinese class taking up EVERY summer), and i'm spending it all on 1) a new computer and 2) a month(s) long trip through either eastern europe, south asia or latin america. i have a year to decide that.

as important as this trip is to me, graduate school is just as important, and i want to make sure i'm making the right choice about it. this fall, i'm applying to four economics phd programs in the united states. in order of preference, they are princeton, chicago, mit and boston university. i'm also applying to three masters programs outside of the united states: the university of oslo, the london school of economics and cambridge, in no particular order.

as some have been very quick to point out (friends, family, teachers, most of my support base), these are all pretty difficult schools to gain admission. obviously, i realize that. but why shoot low?

it's not like i don't have other options. not getting in would probably be a blessing in disguise. it would give me a chance to work for a year or two and make sure that i'm going the right track with economics. working might show me that i would be better suited as a finance major or a policy major, maybe even a philosophy major (joke).

in any case, i'm starting my norwegian studies next week...

a lot of people have asked me why i want to go this route. after obtaining a phd, i'd like to work for the world bank and study environmental economics, doing policy research in developing regions who are prone to environmental degradation as a result of industrialization (we can't afford a repeat of china in africa now can we?). after a while there, i'd like to move to a university where i could teach and research until i'm 80 or 90, maybe 150 if medicine catches up.

what have i discovered over the last three years? what awesome advice can i give?

people aren't always who you think they are, so don't always trust the people you meet, only the people you know. you'll never get to know anyone unless there are bumps in the road. when you start college, you don't know what you want to do. when you graduate, you still might not know. that's not a problem. find a passion and stay on track to work on it.

this year is going to be great. i'm excited to work on my thesis, i'm excited to work on my fulbright application, and i'm so excited to watch my friends and myself move on to new things. my sister is starting college with me next week, and i think that's going to be a lot of fun too.

if only the black-eyed peas had an annoying song about a good year instead of a good night...