I took this GORGEOUS picture during a road trip from GA to CA back in August 2008. I think this was taken when I was passing through AZ. Doesn’t it just make you smile and want to touch the sky?

Discovery

I found an old picture. I’ve never shown it to anyone except to my family and best friends. This picture takes me back to my childhood binoculars, stuffed animal explorer friend “Teddy” who I took with me to make discoveries (he sits on my bookshelf to this day), ingenious fictional stories I used tell the neighborhood kids, and more – it reminds me to never forget the importance of youth and aspirations.

Here I am with my fellow Special Agent trainees. Six out of 50 trainees in my class were females, including me. Imagine being the girliest and youngest female agent in a class full of Type-A personalities. Best. Experience. Ever.

Do you ever feel so strong about something that you’ll do anything in order to make it yours? I remember sitting on the couch with my baby brother and watching MacGyver when I was a kid. MacGyver was my idol – resourceful, optimistic, intelligent, and so sweet. Seriously, I considered marrying him without even thinking twice about our colossal age difference. Everyday, he was living a life of action, saving people, inventing, traveling, investigating, and making a positive change for everyone. Not only was I in love with his lifestyle and his encouraging ways, I also wanted to be him.

So, I did a little investigation myself: Who was MacGyver? -He was a Secret Agent. I had no idea what that meant since I was only a child. Becoming a Special Agent is what I aimed for all my life. Nothing else mattered; everything else was a distraction. My brother and I played “investigators and criminals” with the neighborhood kids quite often until the sun went down. Since we were children, I honestly believed that I was as an investigator, and in 2006, when I received an “unknown” call asking me for an answer of whether or not I could fly out to the east coast for the six-month training to become a Special Agent, I almost died. It was the moment I was waiting for all my life and everything made sense to me after that – go after dreams, make goals and have a plan, and always do the best I can.

Being ambitious doesn’t mean being competitive with others; it means being competitive with myself. I am constantly seeking out ways on how I can help others. That’s why I give myself such a hard time if I fail at something, but the reality is if I failed, then I’ve lived. Remember what Mother Teresa said? “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you.” Very true.

So, what’s the point of my story? – Go after that burning desire in your life because we need more people in this world who love what they do. If you reach a goal in life and it wasn’t all what you expected it to be, then move onto the next because life is about exploration. Set no limits and take the risk. Bear Grylls said it best when he tweeted, “If you risk nothing you gain nothing.” LOVE IT!!! LIVE IT!

Happy Twenty Eleven!

Sorry, for the belated Happy New Year post. Here are a few of my 2010 accomplishments:

1. Accepted into the Masters Program at St. Mary’s College of California

Executive Weekend, December 2010

2. Crowned Miss Asian America Scholastic Achievement and Miss Popularity 2010-2011

Sarah and I after the pageant, August 7, 2010 (Thank you for these great pictures, David Yu)

My Korean Hanbok during the Traditional Costume Competition

3. Attended many charity events to give back to my community, including the Hatwalk in October 2010 to help bring awareness of how cancer affects Asian Americans and their families, the Admiral’s Reception on the USS Makin Island during Fleet Week, and the Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC) Annual Gala dinner at SF City Hall

Hatwalk 2010, Dinner

Stephanie Ng, Kristina Owyoung, Sarah Liu, and Betty Hsu in Fiona Kim’s modern Hanbok designs, and me in my traditional Hanbok post-show

Walking the walk

Sarah Liu, Kristina Owyoung, and I backstage before the show

Rehearsing for the opening act with James Kyson Lee from the show, Heroes

Crystle Wong, Stephanie Ng, Sarah Liu, and I after the gala dinner

Kristina Owyoung and I with guests at the Admiral’s Reception on the USS Makin Island

She’s a doll!

Hillary and I with SF Board of Supervisor, David Chiu, at the CCDC Annual Gala

Hilary and I with Vice Chairman Jerry Lee and his wife at CCDC Annual Gala

4. Finished my first half-marathon with a time of 2:15 for the Nike Women’s Marathon San Francisco 2010, a race to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

I run to be… SEXY! ;)

Christine and I after finishing the half-marathon race

The race begins early AM in Union Square, San Francisco

Another picture of Christine (left) and I after the race with our Tiff&Co necklaces

5. Moved to San Francisco

CAL Bear Girlfriends: Maria, Christine, Stephanie, me, and Pegah at our Snow Castle Housewarming Party<3

6. Selected as a semi-finalist for the Presidential Management Fellowship 2011

Lunch with current PMF semi-finalists for 2011: Jason, me, Julia, and Nadia

7. Cooked an organic Thanksgiving Dinner for my entire family. I wish I took more pictures. Successful maple brined turkey, famous turkey stuffing, organic cranberry orange sauce, walnut yams w/vanilla, shredded Brussels sprouts w/lemon & poppy seeds, and much more. Learn how to roast a turkey on YouTube without a turkey rack. Everything came out very delicious – yay!

Mmm, so juicy and tender – success! :)

2011 has been a wonderful year so far!!! I’ll post soon to share pictures from my recent travels. Preview:

Meet my new friend, Mr. Alpaca!

XO,

Angellica

 

P.S. Happy 100th International Women’s Day (IWD)! IWD was three days ago, March 7th, but it is honestly every day - girls’ education and women’s rights benefit everyone! This year’s IWD theme is “Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women.” You can read the White House’s statement on IWD here, Arianna Huffington’s inspiring IWD blog post here, or the HuffPost article on “5 ways [you can] Help Empower Women” here. On Saturday, April 16, 2011, at 10 AM, I will be part of the Women’s Day: A Day of Indulgence in Santa Clara, CA. Please join me at this special charity event benefiting the Princess Project, a non-profit organization that promotes self-confidence and individual beauty to girls! Here is a quick preview from the Women’s Day photo shoot last month:

P.P.S. On another note – I can’t wait for the Apple iPad2! I’m getting the white one with the pink smart cover. I’m so excited! <3 The release day is tomorrow, March 11th at 5 PM. Simply beautiful: