The path unwinding.

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”

—Pele

I didn’t think I would have survived the first month in my new job as a content creator. In a lot of ways, I was excited but incredibly nervous of trying to find my place in a new environment where it was predominantly Chinese. In a lot of ways, I felt that I had to adapt to the situation but it’s also about finding that sweet spot that I don’t completely compromise my own personality and creativity. While I did struggle in the beginning to bring the change I wanted in the way a digital team to approach the audience, it’s worth to acknowledge that a lot of the great results I’ve seen in my company’s digital performance is due to the support I got from my Digital Manager, Videographer, Graphic Designer, and Technical Coordinators. A lot of my visions were able to brought to fruition with a digital team that had my back and in just a month, we are able to reach to more people and we are also engaging with more people than ever. A lot of this increase in social media traffic is a direct reflection of the team’s effort and dedication—a beautiful collective hard work that paid off.

Just last month, I had the opportunity to manage some livestreams with our collaboration partners to feature their wonderful recipes on our set. I think despite the shaky start I had with my apartment the day before I started this role, it has been fulfilling to get back out and engage with people face-to-face again. One of the biggest fears I had was really falling out of the writing community on Twitter, just because I had never been a position where I had so much influence over a person’s working schedule, so everything was new for me—to adjust to everything was something I had to face with a brave front (even if I was nervous). So far, I am glad I’m still in touch with my fellow writers.

I can’t help but wonder if this is the responsibility that comes along with being a leader. It’s also not just about passing on a job to a person and expecting them to commit to it, but it’s also building that bond with them and trusting in their abilities to understand your concept, and make it come true. I never wanted to come off as a dictator, and I made it very clear to myself that I would never treat a colleague the way I wouldn’t want to be treated. To see that I am slowly breaking out of my comfort zone and building meaningful relationships with my team where they are comfortable in opening to me about their own personal struggles, it’s something that I appreciate. Anybody could come to me for whatever they needed, and I would do my best to assist them.

Of course while it’s a given that every company has its own challenges where certain groups would have a bit of hard time in changing their mindset, I’ve learned that you can slowly convince people to change their mind when you share their concerns, but still stand on your ground and fully explain yourself. I think it’s so important that even with all the differences and unprecedented events, the company still must remain enthusiastic about the future.

One of the things I enjoy most about brainstorming with my digital team is the opportunity to interact with their own creativity on the set. It’s truly inspirational to see and feel their enthusiasm, even with how very much we differ from each other in approaching to social media contents, etc. I am so blessed to work extremely closely with my Digital manager who has good faith in me, the entire digital team, and technical coordinators (also known as Chefs in the company). I can work from writing storyboards, conceptualizing short videos, drafting advertisements, to promotional and campaign artworks. So why this all means the world to me because it is solid progress. I walked into this company with high depression and anxiety—the last thing I wanted to do was to use my mental health as an excuse to treat others poorly, do sloppy work, and to not give my all. I am a 24-year-old adult and I have been for the past years, and I am fortunate to be on a medication dosage that has been working well for me. I wake up early, drink plenty of water, listen to soul-soothing music, to help me get by the days to some capacity.

I know who I am as an individual. I refuse to let my mental health issues reflect who I am as a person. If there’s one thing I’ve learned since therapy, it’s the importance of genuine supportive friends and uplifting others as well. I’ve seen a strong resurgence in my mood and I’m much happier these days too, both of which struggled during my schooling years. My relationships with friends have remained strong, as much of the hard work throughout the pandemic has paid off… through all of this, I have been happy for the successes that they have achieved or are making its way to them.

I’m not entirely sure where all this positivity from me is coming from. What I do know is that I have a high level of faith in my friends and digital team. I’ve talked frequently about how change in constant, much of it is driven by how we interact with our surroundings and more importantly, with ourselves. My ability to embrace all that’s in front of me with a clear set of eyes and a keen sense of reality will be defining for my own path to success, short-term and long-term. As I embark on my transformational journey to write my next chapter, I have full confidence in you. Yes, you, the person reading this. Because together, we are going to achieve beautiful moments, even if our paths are separate.