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,[email protected].
Wearenearly3.5yearsintothisdecade.Let’sredefinewhat’spossible.:O)
SnowWhite
http://lessonsforlife.me
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“Employyourtimeinimprovingyourselfbyothermen’swritingsothatyoushallcomeeasilybywhatothershavelaboredhardfor.”‐Socrates