Being ready and seizing the opportunities

Today, I met a CEO and a consultant who's been my mentor since high school. During our 3-hour long conversation, I not only shared my concerns and asked for his advice but he also walked me through a huge project he's been preparing for awhile and will be launching this year. While I can't talk about the nature of this project here, I am very much considering joining the team later on, which is an exciting idea for me to consider as I start my career at PwC because I always wanted to be part of something that's growing and in this project, I see some immense potentials.

During our talk, he told me that people maybe have 3 opportunities (or lucks) during their lives and it is up to them to seize them. But these opportunities don't come to anyone and not everyone is prepared to take it and succeed when they come around.

In the past couple of months, I've been struggling to determine my plans; both academic and professional plans (which actually go hand-in-hand). Talking to my friends who seemed to have at least their 20's figured out, I honestly couldn't (and still can't) say how I planned to achieve my dream.

Wait, what is my dream anyway? what am I trying to do here? Yes, I want to own my own company someday but what company? and is MBA the only way to go? Do I really want to give up going to law school? what about the passion I had when I was young that I will devote my life to improving the living conditions of those that are less privileged? All these questions ate away the small bit of confidence I had and I seemed to fall deeper and deeper into a black hole I named, useless worries.

My mentor told me that I don't have to be so aggressive at picturing my dreams and figuring out every step to get there. I just need to prepare myself for when the time is right; because when it is, opportunities will come and I will be equip to seize those opportunities.


carpe diem  <3

PwC Associate

When I received a full-time offer from my summer internship, I was thrilled that I would have signed on the spot if they asked me to sign the contract. As the summer ended and I returned to Georgetown (after studying abroad at the LSE for a year), something inside of me kept pushing me to explore some more.

While I very much enjoyed the summer internship and learned so much from the people I worked with/for, I think a large part of me wanted to take a risk; not necessarily for something better but for something different. Not because I wasn't satisfied with the offer but because I'm just that kind of a person; I am motivated when I don't know what's ahead of me and I have to tailor my own solutions. I honestly don't know if the position I took at PwC is necessarily a better position than the other offer but one thing I know for sure is that I don't know.

When it comes to personal development, I believe I am a very risk-taking person, who embraces uncertainty. This is probably the main reason why I am pursuing consulting for now and entrepreneurship in the long-run. As many of my close friends and family members know, I want to run my own show one day. I want to own and run something that I can truly call my own. In order for me to leave that kind of legacy, I have to learn. PwC is where this will happen in the next few years and I'm excited but nervous at the same time.

With the New York apartment search and on-going mentoring, I am prepping myself for the next stage of my life at PwC in one of my favorite cities, New York. I will soon be able to hand out my own business card.

Yeah, it will suck not having breaks and not being able to sleep in and ask for extensions on my papers and projects but I define my own "happiness" and set my own priorities. This is why I will not just survive but succeed.