The art of connecting the dots

“When life gives you, lemons make lemonade.”

For the past 20 years of my life, this simple and well-known saying has been my motto. I try not to take things as it is and make the most about it. This way of life has allowed me to experience and commit to more than I had expected to be in front of me. I can’t say it has been the teenage dream that I once hoped for. Yet it is still memorable and meaningful. Throughout my teenage experience, I thought about my past, present, and future. I try to “connect the dots”, referring to Steve Jobs’ famous speech at Stanford University. While I have a considerable amount of life ahead of me, I would like to focus on the “dots” I have begun to connect.

Growing up, I had the privilege of living in numerous locations. When I first attended university, I was often asked about my experiences living abroad, but my response was too lengthy for a stranger to remember. I graduated from two kindergartens, three elementary schools, and two middle schools. As you can see, I have never lived a settled and stable life. I was always caught up worrying about how I was going to make new friends and blend into the unfamiliar environments. During my adolescent stage, I was preoccupied with matching myself to others.

However, due to my frequent moves, I was fortunate enough to develop a diverse group of international friends, which represents my first dot. Living in various cultures allowed me to interact with individuals whom I would not have met otherwise. Meeting new people and being introduced to diverse cultural groups really broke my bubble and lead me to stepping out of my comfort zone. For example, I had friends from India, Sri Lanka, and Turkey, and I learned that each person had a similar yet distinct perspective.

A lot of people are worried about how to fit in the internationally changing society. Something that I learned growing up is that there are obviously differences between race, culture, and nurture. But we are all people. Our values may vary but we are made to adapt to divergent environments and comprehend cultures. Based on my experience, I believe that we are all able to engage with others and therefore global interactions will not be a problem in the future. Although some people may oppose my thoughts, arguing that as the culture and environment shapes one’s mind, it would be a struggle for us to fit into the global society, humans’ psychology is seen to ensure our adaption in the multicultural world. According to Mark Pagel, a professor of biological sciences, University of Reading, UK, we humans are competent to evolve in a culture-oriented society. The backbone of humanity has always been culture. Humans can obtain a new set of skills, other than being circumscribed to their original ones, to adapt to new environments which is something that differentiates us from other animals.

The reflections I have on my life reflect my thoughts. As I look back on my teenage years, I realize that my experiences during that time were instrumental in shaping my future. By having the courage to explore new opportunities and wholeheartedly embracing them, I have been able to create more “dots” that I plan to connect throughout my 20s. I have recently come to appreciate that every moment of my teenage years was significant and meaningful in its own way. Although the frequent moves and changes in environments left a lasting impact on me, I now view them as necessary challenges that I had to endure to mature into the adult I am today. Like the quote says, make the most with what you are given and embrace and enjoy everything life has to offer.