01
Hong Kong
How seeking adventure teaches us lessons beyond ourselves
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At the age of 5, my mom moved to Boston from Hong Kong with my Por Por and Gong Gong (Grandmother and Grandfather in Cantonese), and uncles.
For the first time since, my mom returned home reconnecting with family and visiting where she grew up, while sharing it with my Dad, Brother, and I. For five days we spent time with her cousins seeing the sites of my family. From the apartment where she grew up to the streets and small food stands that my Por Por used to visit, these sites felt strangely familiar.
Over the years, traveling has taught me many things. I've learned about other cultures and perspectives. I've learned to be more observant, to be adaptable and figure things out, to take action in the face of pressure and ambiguity.
From this trip, I learned about the importance of history, resilience, and legacy. In unexpected ways, this experience has helped me understand myself better and how much we can learn from others and past experiences.
Sub note
During this trip, I read the Matthew McConaughey memoir, "Greelights", which I highly recommend giving it a read. This quote scratched an itch at the time (it still does):
“Sometimes you gotta go back to go forward. And I don’t mean goin’ back to reminisce or chase ghosts. I mean go back to see where you came from, where you been, how you got HERE."
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