Some content that have helped me tremendously in getting through Yale at tough times.

Some quotes

on fashion

“Fashion, by the way, is commerce masquerading as hip. I’m not at all interested in fashion, which is why I rarely buy new clothes. The fact that fashion goes out of fashion and then comes back into fashion based solely on what a few people sometime think they can sell, well to me, that’s insanity.”

on difficult times

“瓶颈本来就是进步的前兆。憋一憋， 又能下出来一颗金蛋。”

on making decisions

“The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They are there to stop the OTHER people. Brick walls are there for a reason, they give us a chance to show how badly we want something”

“When two seemingly different paths lie in front of you and you want to do both, don’t give up, hang in there, and you will find your own path.” – Ray Dalio

on being alone

“我天性不宜交际。在多数场合，我不是觉得对方乏味，就是害怕对方觉得我乏味。可是我既不愿忍受对方的乏味，也不愿费劲使自己显得有趣，那都太累了。我独处时最轻松，因为我不觉得自己乏味，即使乏味，也自己承受，不累及他人，无需感到不安。” – 周国平

on double major

“Hence the vogue for double majors. It isn’t enough anymore to take a bunch of electives in addition to your primary focus, to roam freely across the academic fields, making serendipitous connections and discoveries, the way that American higher education was designed ( uniquely, among the world’s systems) to allow you to do.” – Excellent Sheep

on finding a job

“The paradox of potential”, Yale students, he said, are like stem cells. They can be anything in the world, so they try to delay for as long as possible the moment when they have to become just one thing in particular. Possibility, paradoxically, becomes limitation. “My friends and I didn’t run sprinting down a thousand career paths, bound for all corners of the globe,” he wrote. “Instead, we moved cautiously, in groups, plodding down a few well-worn trails so as to ensure that two or four years down the road, we could be stem cells again, still undifferentiated, still brimming with potential.” – Excellent Sheep

on college

College is a place to figure out: just what it is that’s worth wanting. – Excellent Sheep

Youth is wasted on the young.

on being ordinary

“真正的快乐，不是狂喜，亦不是苦痛，在我很主观地来说，它是细水长流，碧海无波，在芸芸众生里做一个普通的人，享受生命一刹间的喜悦，那么我们即使不死，也在天堂里了。”

Some Reads

1. Excellent Sheep
   by William Deresiewicz, a former Yale professor.
   His book is an easy and quick read. He truly pinpoints the mindset issue that most Yalies have and provide solutions to them. Would recommend when you start to question “what I am doing all this for?”

2. The Opposite of Loneliness
   by Marina Keegan ’12, who unfortunately passed away the weekend before commencement.
   Her article best describes what it feels like to be at Yale, in its best moments.

3. On Self-Respect
   by Joan Didion in 1961.
   My friend Michelle forwarded me the article, and I loved it. What it means when you start to detach yourself from external validation and seeks strength from within. I had to read this many times due to the cultural references.

4. Paul Graham Essays by Paul Graham, entreprenur, computer scientist, painter and venture capitalist.
   This is my to-go material for procrastination. I love his clarity and depth. If you don’t know where to start, click here. Even if it’s written for high school, it’s still quite relevant for college.

5. Totally Legitimate Reasons That I can’t Go For a Run
   Running is something that caused me troubles and grounded me at Yale. People often tell me they prefer to go to the gym or that it’s too cold to go outside. But running is running, it’s so primitive and unique in how it shapes your mind. No excuses, even when it’s pouring.

6. Consolations of Philosophy
   Alain de Botton talks about dealing with unpopularity, being poor, frustration, inadequacy, a broken heart and difficulties. Quite enlightening.