What a whirlwind of a year! Although I would rather be spending it in Vegas with my friends, which was what I originally planned because of the time spent during LinkedIn ‘s Annual Sales Kick-Off. (It’s this big celebration of culture and a time where we bring together over 6000 employees to celebrate what an amazing fiscal year its been).

I’m grateful for the space and the opportunity to grow and reflect.

If you were to ask me during my engagement month with Samantha back in February, could I have predicted this year to turn out this way. I would have never guessed or predicted everything from COVID-19 to racial tensions/conversations to LinkedIn’ biggest layoffs so far in its history.

These are the ten things I’m grateful for upon reflecting on this year from 32 to 33.

1. The Fellas- I created a monthly group with my closest friends and people whom I respect and enjoy seeing the growth and brotherhood from authentic sharing and creating a space of support and love. It’s been so rewarding seeing men grow and transform into the best versions of themselves. Nick P., Edwin, William, Brandon, Juan David, Juan De Angulo, Spencer, Mike, Aditya, Jeff, and Nick Singh.
2. I started to write our 2nd book about Redefining Masculinity with all of these fantastic people in my life. I’m excited to share different male perspectives on how to be a better Ally in the world. I’m excited about the contributions ahead.
3. Hitting my one year mark at LinkedIn, I’m finally starting to find my stride. It took me a while and I have been pretty hard on myself for not hitting my goals earlier, but I’m glad I am.
4. My partnership with my fiancee has grown so much. We communicate with each other, and I can see her for who she is and not want to change her. I respect her, and I am participating in being with her, not wanting it to be any different but still having the vision together to live the life we want. It’s been such a healing and growing relationship. I’m so grateful for you sweetie you always believe in me, and I can’t wait to be amazing parents together.
5. The LinkedIn Asian Alliance has been blowing my expectations. Just this week we volunteered with Pencil and its so amazing to work with caring, people who to make a difference. We get to give back to hundreds of students next week for a career panel event. That’s going to be so rewarding. Thank you for all you do. Too many names to name here, but you know I love you all.
6. Seeing the efforts of Linkedin Learning and in the impact, we are making shifting the minds of thousands of employees personally. I feel a great sense of purpose and drive. I have renewed energy from being at peace that I do not need to be around people and no longer need external validation to feel a sense of worth within myself.
7. The Davidson Hang Podcast– I’m up to Episode 66, and I’m so proud of myself for having such passion and making the world a better place to help people become the best versions of themselves. Growing up, my story was like I wanted to surrounded by amazing mentors, and now I can see greatness is all around me. It starts with building relationships with the people in my life already, and everyone is perfect and beautiful as is.
8. Finally, accepting myself and seeing myself as a confident person has been a real journey. Thanks to LinkedIn’s amazing LYRA mental program- I’m fortunate enough to leverage the fantastic therapists and counselors to help me process my emotions during these tough times.
9. The quality of my relationships has grown tremendously. Investing in reaching out to my friends and loved ones have helped me get closer to family while accepting everyone’s differences. Being a peacemaker, I see the value in cultivating relationships even with people who I haven’t spoken with in awhile.
10. The power of community- I’m fortunate to work for a fantastic company in LinkedIn, and seeing the network come together to help out my 960 colleagues has been touching. It’s a spiritual experience to see all of us are the same. Throughout my healing process, I no longer see Asians as different than everyone else. The more I dive deeper into Diversity, Inclusion, and Equality, the more I am present to everyone’s struggles. Not to belittle what’s going on right now, reading MLK’s. Muhammad Ali’s, and Arthur Ashe’s biography has helped me see we have a long way to go, but I am optimistic for the future.

I’m grateful that you took the time to read this, and I wish you all the best for the rest of 2020. Make it a year of discovery, exploration, growth, and expansion. We cannot change any of the external circumstances, but I promise you from going through depression, moving from apartment to apartment, and running away from my problems. I am grateful for all of these moments where I was bullied because it’s lead me here to you read now, and we’ve all been connected through these trying times. If you ever need someone to talk to or to listen to whatever you are going through- I’m here for you.

Thank you for the abundance of birthday wishes. I’m so grateful for your love and energy. Namaste