This past decade, a retrospective.
Looking back on 2010–2019, the time that shaped my 20s.
I never thought a decade is a long time until I looked back on what happened in the past decade for this year’s retrospective. This decade was my step into my adulthood, my 20s, and my career. Fortunately, I don’t think I would have spent my decade any better — I felt like I grew a lot as a person, and accomplished a lot in life.
Here are a few events that shaped my past decade.
Moved to SF Bay Area and went to UC Berkeley.
This was the single most life-changing event that happened in the past 10 years. In 2011, I got into UC Berkeley, and moved to SF Bay Area from Korea. Not gonna lie, it was a bit nerve wrecking. I had lived in Houston before, but I was born and raised in Korea, and most of all, it’s the first time I’m in another country alone. Fortunately, I became roommates with Rachit, my childhood friend from Houston who also got into Cal, and that made the transition a lot better.
The classes were brutal and I honestly don’t know how I managed to graduate with a computer science degree. (If you ask me a basic algorithm question now, I would epically fail.) Yet, Cal is the place that truly shaped my career. At Cal, I became passionate about startups and actually started one with the best co-founders I could ask for. In fact, I went on to work on another startup with the friends I met at Cal, after my brief time at Box.
I also met some of my best friends at Cal. They are the people that make me feel that this is where I belong, 5600 miles away from the motherland. I can talk about anything freely, from nerding out about K-pop and League of Legends to listening to each other’s challenges in life and contemplating the meaning of our existence. So yes, the greatest gift that my time at Cal gave me is the people, and I feel incredibly fortunate and thankful.
The greatest gift that my time at Cal gave me is the people.
I’m now at a point where I’ve roughly spent half of my life in the US, and half of my life in Korea. I think successfully finding my home in this land of opportunity, with the friends I can call my family, is the greatest accomplishment I’ve made in the past decade.
Became successful in my career as a product designer.
Successful is a big word, but if I were to self-assess how much I’ve achieved, I’d definitely give myself a pat on the back. Yes, I have lofty dreams and there’s still so much left to go, but I’ve definitely came a long way from just a kid doodling “Windows 2001 concept” to a professional product designer making impact on the lives of millions people in the world. Some of the highlights in my career this decade include:
1. Worked on a startup Iris
If anyone were to ask me how I learned product design, it’s through working on my own startup. The startup itself wasn’t successful, but I learned so much along the journey. I got to hone my skills in user experience, visual design, front-end development, product strategy, and communication. Above all, I got to work on something I’m passionate about with my best friends, and met so many talented people working on startups at Cal. To this day, I don’t think I’ve ever worked on something with as much passion as Iris. One day, I’d like to solve a big problem with talented people again through my next startup.
2. Taught Web Design DeCal
I taught product design and web development to over 2000 students over the course of six semesters. Along the way, I grew a lot as a product designer. Skills I learned giving design critiques and explaining design rationally are skills I use everyday today. One of the greatest joy I have in life is seeing comments that say “taking this web design class got me interested in product design.” It’s one of those times I really felt like I made a positive impact on people’s lives. I’d like to thank all the students and the teaching staff that made this experience one of my best times at Cal.
3. Worked on a startup Blitz
I joined Blitz after my 9-months ride at Box — heck, my stocks didn’t even vest! I still think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my career, since I learned so much along the way as a product designer, worked on something I’m deeply passionate about (esports and gaming), worked on a product that made millions of gamers’ lives better, and worked with one of the best teams I’ve ever met. Our next chapter continues at Discord, where we continue to make gamers’ lives better by creating a place where everyone belongs.
Became an adult
This decade marked my first step into adulthood. As I now live away from my family, I tried a lot of new things on my own and became more independent & responsible (I still have a lot more to go, however.) There are a lot that I couldn’t include in this list, like filling out my first tax form and investing in stocks, but here are a few stand-outs:
1. Started cooking
If there’s one thing that can’t change about me even after 10 years of living in the US, it’s my love for Korean food. I need to eat at least 4–5 Korean food a week, and it’s tough if I have to resort to eating out every day. That’s why I started cooking in 2012 with a humble kimchi fried rice. I came a long way since then — I can cook most Korean cuisine comfortably now, like soft tofu soup, spicy pork, and omurice. I even tried some of my favorite dishes like carbonara and Hawaiian garlic shrimp. Some flopped, but for the most part, I think it tastes pretty good. (Ask Hallen)
2. Started driving
When my parents always told me to get a car the moment I came to the States, I always thought I could just get by with Uber. But sometimes (many times, in fact) parents are right. Economically, it’s not that much different, if not cheaper to get Uber, but the freedom to go anywhere whenever, wherever you want makes a huge difference. I feel I’ve definitely expanded my world by driving — it’s almost like having a pair of shoes that can take you anywhere.
3. Bought a home
Last year, I finally purchased my first home — a condo in Emeryville. It was a long journey for sure. Saving up the money is just one part of the process. It takes months to scout the market, research home mortgage options, and learn about the home buying process. Buying a home was more than just an investment; it was a learning opportunity and it definitely marked my step into adulthood this decade.
Enjoyed Life
This decade wasn’t just about working hard and growing as a person — I had a lot of fun! I think I had a good balance of work hard, play hard: I drank a lot, traveled to places, played a ton of games, and more. Life was great.
1. Started drinking
Alcohol changed my life (yes, really.) I always told myself I will never drink because I was afraid of losing my ability to think rationally. But for my 21st birthday, thanks to my friends Val and Rohit, I realized that sometimes it’s okay to let go of your rationality. It’s okay to be crazy. It’s okay to just enjoy the moment. Since that first sip of moscato, I went on to try beer, soju, gin, and more. I think drinking made me more social, open, and all in all, enjoy life. I’m glad I took that first sip of moscato. (my liver probably won’t.)
2. Traveled to 10 countries
I got to explore exciting new places, from serene shrines of Japan and stunning architecture of Italy, to majestic mountains of Switzerland and incredible glaciers of Iceland. I believe traveling is one of the best ways to spend my free time — it opens up new perspectives and gives me an opportunity for reflection. Yet, there really isn’t much opportunity to travel freely as I get busier with work and after I settle down to start a family. That’s why I think the 20s is the best time to travel and I hope to travel as much as I can in the next decade.
3. Met Hallen
Last but not least, meeting Hallen has to be one of the best things that happened this decade. She made me happier than ever. From nerding out about pokemon and sharing memes from subtle asian traits, to simply sharing our day and even planning the future, we can really be true to ourselves. Above all, she’s the most caring and sincere person I’ve ever met. I know that together, we can both paint the bright future ahead and tackle challenges in our lives. I feel so fortunate and thankful to have her by my side, and I’m excited for what’s ahead of us in the next decade!
3 things I want to accomplish in the next decade
A decade is difficult to plan ahead. I don’t think I would have guessed most of the highlights of the past decade back in 2010. However, I do want to share three things that I want to accomplish for sure in the next ten years:
1. Work on a successful startup
To this day, I don’t think I’ve ever worked on something with as much passion as my own startup, Iris. I worked tirelessly day and night, with the team I love, and for the problem I deeply cared about. I want to one day work on my own startup again, tackling the right problem with the right team. Above all, I want to do it right this time — getting the product-market fit right, scaling the product to mass market, and finding a scalable monetization model. I’ve made a lot of mistakes with Iris and Blitz, and definitely learned a lot. Next time, I want to make sure I do it right and be able to call it a success, without hesitation.
2. Start a family
If moving to SF Bay Area and going to Cal were the most defining events of the past decade, I think starting a family would probably be the most defining event of the next decade. It’s going to bring additional responsibilities and will change my life to our life going forward. Yet, I’ve always wanted to start a family soon-ish. I’ve been living away from my family for more than half of my life, and wanted to find stability with the person I love. I’m looking forward to this new chapter in life, coming soon in the next decade!
3. Be Healthy
My parents always said “you might not notice it now, but your unhealthy habits will come back to bite you when you get older.” The older I get, I’m starting to feel this more. Honestly, right now I have a terrible diet (red meat almost everyday?) and my body is not in shape at all (nice once every other week gym schedule). As I enter my thirties next decade, I want to be healthier with a better diet and keep my body in shape.
3 things I want to accomplish in 2020
I also want to set a few goals that I can take action immediately in this new year so I can work towards my long-term goals I set for the decade.
1. Gain 10 pounds, for real.
Okay, real talk, I didn’t meet my 2019 goal of gaining 12 pounds (it’s really hard please believe me.) I was pretty on track until August, when I got food poisoning from Shanghai which led me to lose six pounds in just weeks. Excuses aside, I think I could have tried harder to gain weight. I’ll make sure to push myself more, as a part of my long-term goal of staying healthy.
2. Keep in touch with my friends more.
Back in 2018, I set a goal to expand my social circle. What I didn’t realize then, is that I should have tried harder to maintain my social circle first. As I get older and busier, I stay in touch with my friends less and less. Friendship takes effort. In 2020, I will try to keep in touch and take care of my friends more. So look out for random pings from me to catch up soon!
3. Live my life, not others.
One of my biggest weaknesses is that I tend to think too much about how other people perceive me. There were times when I was afraid to speak up, did something I didn’t want to, and even felt insecure at times. I need to stop living my life based on how other people think of me, but instead put my opinions, beliefs, and values first and foremost. Life is too short to live someone else’s life. I will try to put myself as the priority this year.
For the next decade
Whew! This was a long retro, but I’m glad I do this every year. In fact, writing yearly retrospectives is probably one of the best things I’ve done in the past decade. It helps me look back on what happened in the past year, good or bad, celebrate the good times, and learn from the bad times. Most of all, it’s an opportunity for me to reflect on how thankful I am for everyone around me. This retro is a special thank you to all the people that shaped my past decade, and a promise from me to continue to grow as a better person.
Happy 2020!
Special thanks to everyone that shaped my last decade: my parents, Hallen, Team Iris, Web Design DeCal staff, Team Blitz, Jess’ Bitches, K-Popular, and countless more. ❤️
