February 29 was a big day.  TED2012, Calgary iFseries Day 3, Women of Influence Luncheon with Sue Lee, and the 20th anniversary of my debut (my big bad 18th birthday party; it’s like a wedding but no groom, just a girl in a big white dress).  I was able to attend TED through TEDxLive, with a break for an influential lunch time speaker with WOI, all the while following tweets on the iFseries… and trying to forget about the fact that I just turned 38.  What a day!

You see, I need inspiration.  Every year around my birthday, I freak out about how old I’m getting and how little I seem to be doing with my life.  Though my best friend from high school told me that I’ve done so much and I’m so far ahead, I will seem to disagree.  But maybe that’s what keeps me moving forward.  Each success, no matter how small, is celebrated… but why stop there?  My parents came here from the Philippines so we could have a better life, but that doesn’t mean I sit back and reap all the rewards of their hard work.  It means I work hard too, and keep paying it forward.

So many people have a similar upbringing, with parents and grandparents who struggled to make a better life.  Yet there are still many who forget their stories, who sit back, relax, and wait for good things to happen to them.  No matter which mold you have found yourself in, watch this TED talk by Tan Le on her immigration story, and ask yourself which mold you want to be in.

[ted id=1368]

SHARE THIS: