ACollectionofLessonsforLifeSTARTINGBLOCLA’11EDITION

©2013LessonsforLife

AlittlemorethantwoyearsagoweweresittingattheAnnenbergBeachHouseinSantaMonica,CA.

Wedidn’tknoweachotherandwedidn’tknowwhattoexpectasStartingBloccandidates.Aswesoondiscovered,eachandeveryoneofourneighborshadaspecialstorytoshare.Everyonewasworkingtowardacauseorwantedtoimmersethemselvesinone.

TherewasSwapnil,the“Poop”guy.Sam,theenergeticstudentfromNYU.Sydney,thesoft‐spokengalwithcurlyhair.Brittany,theinquisitivesoon‐to‐bePeaceCorpsvolunteer.Andlastbutnotleast,Ankit,thefearlesswarrior.

Ofcourse,therewereourfacilitators:Adriana,SarahandRithesh.MitchellWadeandHoustonSpencerspokeabouttheonlychangethatmattersistheonethat’sleftbehindwhenwe’regone.ScottShermaninformedusabouttransformativeaction,theactofworkingwith(ratherthanagainst)theenemytomakechangehappen.

Welaughedalot.Someofusevencried.Overall,wewereoverjoyedtobeapartofournewfoundcommunity.

Idon’tknowifyourecall,butatthetime,IwasworkingonaprojectcalledLessonsforLifewhereIaskedfolkstosharethethreethingstheywishtheyknewwhentheywereyounger.Ihadtotakeabreakfromittosortoutsomepersonalthings,butnowit’sbackandI’mback.WhenIrandomlycomeacrossoneofyourresponses,ittakesmebacktothosemid‐Februarydaysbackin

2011andIwonderhowyou’redoing.About¼ofusattheInstitutewrotesomethingdownandIthoughtitwouldbeagoodideatocompileeveryone’sresponsesintoonedocument.Feelfreetodownloadthisanddowhateveryouwantwithit.It’sours.

Imustwarnyouthoughthattheselessonsare2orsoyearsold.Bepreparedtobesurprisedandinspired.

“Whatarethethreethingsyouwishyouknewwhenyouwereyounger?”

CarloDiy,26

1. Justpicksomething!2. Don’tbeafraidtoASKforhelp.3. YourrelationshipsandhealthareSOimportant!

AlbertoIrez,26

1. Bealwaysasboldasyoucanbe.2. Defendthepeoplethatcan’tdefendthemselvesnomatterwhat.3. Alwayssmile.

DanielWu,22

1. Buildcommunity–formintimate,challenging,vulnerableBFFLs,storytelling,art.2. Challengeselfandfocusonkeychallenges/passions.3. Keeplearning–critically:socialjustice,innovation,sustainability.

JulianRhoads,25

1. Askquestions!Youdon’tneedtohavetheanswerallthetime.2. Failuredoesn’thurtasmuchasyouthink,ifatall.3. Greatthingsfollowfromhavingfunandbeinghappy.

SomaiahManavattira,26

1. Ridingamotorbike.2. Whatiseasyandwhatisnot.3. Wisdom.

TommyPorter,27

1. Onlyasmallpercentageofindividualsactuallybecomeastronauts.2. Youshouldreachforthestarsanyway.3. Growingupandgettingresponsibilitiesisoverrated.

ScottSherman,43

1. Weshouldtrytofailasoftenaspossible,becausewelearnthebestlessonsfromourmistakes,failures,etc.2. Therearemanyothergoodoptionsinlifebesideslawschool!(IwishIhadknownaboutsocialinnovation!)3. Thebesteducationcomesfromoutsidetheclassroom.Youdon’tneeddegreestoliveasuccessful,happylife!

MeganMcAninch,22

1. Wewillneverrunoutoflove.2. Thewayyougreetpeoplechangestheirattitudes;peoplearewonderful.3. Yourmindwillchange.That’sokay.

TaiwoAdeoye,25

1. Nothingisunachievable!Reachfortheridiculousdreams!2. Itisokaytofailmorethanonce.Justdon’tstoptrying.3. I’mbeautifulinmyownway!Neverletanyonetellyouotherwise.ANYONE!

SharonTweksbury‐Bloom,27

1. It’soktofail.Makingmistakesisagreatandnecessarywaytolearnandgrow.2. Thereisgreatpotentialinsilliness.3. Givespecificthanksfrequently.

DebbieYu,26

1. Beopen‐minded.Alwaysbeopentolearningnewthings.2. Takemorerisks!Relatesto#1.3. Challengeyourself.Don’tbeafraidtopushyourselfandyourlimitsbecauseyouwillfindthatyoucando

thingsyouneverimagined.

BenBezark,25

1. Hardtimeshelpyougrow.2. Makefriends,hangontothem.3. Tryeverything,justonce.

MichaelHendrix,29

1. Theimportanceofnetworkingwithmanydiversepeople.2. Everythingyoudowhenyou’reyoungaffectsyouwhenyou’reolder.3. Persevereandneverquitatanythingyoustart–finishasbestasyoucan!

AnjanMK,26

1. Alittlemorewisdom.2. Humility.3. Tolovepeoplemore.

ShaheenMamawala,27

1. You’regoingtochangeyourmindalotoftimes,aboutalotofthings–that’stotallyfine(andinfactprobablybestbecausethenwhenyoufindtherightthing,you’llknow).

2. Beinginmiddleschoolisprettyheinousalotofthetime.Trustme,itgetsbetter.3. Unfortunately,alotofadultsforgetwhatit’sliketobeakid.Takenoteofthatnowandrememberit,soyou

makesuretobreakthecycle!

AngelaZhang,26

1. Collegewon’tmagicallymakeyouhappy.2. Agreatjobmightnotmakeyoureallyhappybutabadjobwillreallymakeyoumiserable.3. Theeasiestwaytomakeyourselfunhappyistocompareyourselfwithotherpeople.

VarunKhaitan,23

1. Travelandexplore.You’reoldenough.2. Readalotttttt.3. Followonlyyourheart.

RitheshMenon,29

1. It’ssomuchbettertocollaboratethancompete.Itwouldhaveprobablymademeamuchbetterstudentoflife.

2. ThattheworldisactuallybiggerandalotmorefascinatingthanIwillknowinmylife.3. Thatit’salwaysagoodideatodreamevenbigger;sinceourdreamsgrowsmalleraswegrowolder.

SuAnneHuang,24

1. Learnaskillyoucanbringtothetable(professionaldegreeshelp,evenifyouchangeinterestandcareersmanytimes).

2. Enjoyandbeinspiredbynaturetothefullestofyourabilities.3. Establishandmaintainyournetworks–valueyourfamily,friends,colleagues…

BrittanyBoroian,22

1. Dreamasbigaspossible.2. Theskyislimitless.3. Theonlythingthatholdsyoubackfromanythingisyourself.

TylerEmerson,30

1. Howtothinklong.Howtothinkabouthavinganenduringpositiveimpactonthefuture.2. Thatbeingcomfortableandexistingwiththefearoftheuncommonistheonlywaytogo.3. Thatyoucannevergowrong–well,almostnever–expressingyourloveforhumanity–yourphilanthropy.

SydneyMalawer,24

1. Changeisbeautifulandshouldbeembraced.2. Languageisdynamicandonly30%dependentonwords.3. Sexisamanifestationoflove,andifitdoesn’tfeelthiswayyoushouldn’tbedoingit.

LiAnnIshizuka,22

1. Tonotworrysomuchaboutthefuture(Ihavetotellmyselfthisalotevennow!).2. Remembertovaluetherelationshipsyoualreadyhavesoyouneverlosethem.3. Thinkabouthowyouractionscanaffectothers(environmentally,socially,emotionally,politically,culturally).

RishuOberoi,26

1. Thattherewaslifebeyondbooks,gradesandcompetitions.2. Thattherewassomuchtoseeandexperiencearoundtheworld.3. Seeabove.

ClaireButterworth,36

1. ThatIwasalwaysthinnerthanIthoughtIwas.2. Thatbeingyourtrueselfisthemostattractivethingaboutyou.3. Toaskforhelpfromsmartpeopleevenwhenyoufeellikeanidiot.Theyprobablydon’tthinkyouareanidiot.

KwiriYang,23

1. Healthandahealthylifestyleareveryimportant.Knowinghowtotakecareofyourselfandprioritizingyourhealthcandeterminehowmuchmoreyoucanaccomplishinlife.

2. Familytime.Don’ttakefamilyandfamilytimeforgranted.Intheend,theoneswhowillstandbyyoursidewillbeyourfamilyandsiblings.

3. Alwaysthankandbeappreciativeofwhatisgiventoyou.Beforeyoustartcomplainingaboutwhatyoudon’thave,seeandthinkaboutwhatothersdon’thavethatyouhaveandbegrateful.

SarahBishop,25

1. Failingisokay,evengood.Somedayslifesucks.Embracethesuck.2. Don’tworkwithpeoplewhodon’tshareyourvalues.Peoplewhovaluethesamethingsyoudowillgivemore

eventhoughtheyhaveless.3. Lifeistooshorttodothingsyoudon’tlike.Dothingsyoulove.

Youareallamazing.IamblownawaybywhatyouallaredoingandI’mgratefulthatFacebookisallowingmetofollowyourprogress.I’malsogratefulfortheoccasionaleventsthatbringafewofustogether.Letmeknowifyou’reeverinLosAngeles–I’dlovetocatchup.

Ourworldiscountingonus.Let’skeeplaser‐focusedonpursuingouruniquedreamsthatwillcreateabetterworldformorepeople.Ifthere’sanythingIcandotohelp,pleaseletmeknow.Myemailaddressissnowwhite.bui@gmail.com.

Wearenearly3.5yearsintothisdecade.Let’sredefinewhat’spossible.:O)

SnowWhite

http://lessonsforlife.me

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“Employyourtimeinimprovingyourselfbyothermen’swritingsothatyoushallcomeeasilybywhatothershavelaboredhardfor.”‐Socrates