the life of chao(s)

I’m a 19-year old college student currently addicted to coffee, curiosity, and current events. I was born and raised in Southern California, and now study public policy at Princeton. This blog was born five years ago for me to document and reflect on my lifelong journey to shape a more perfect world. 

Here’s a list of 25 things about me: 

1. My hometown is Arcadia, CA, a suburb of Los Angeles. I particularly miss the sunshine, palm trees, and good Mexican and Asian food. 
2. I am a sophomore at Princeton studying public policy. Rest assured- New Jersey is not as bad as people think.
3. I’ve been a current events junkie since elementary school. True story: in 5th grade, I woke up at 5am every morning to watch the news on ABC from 5am until I left for school at 8am. As a result, Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson have a special place in my heart.
4. I like to talk… a lot. When I was three years old, my dad’s friend said I’d either become a used car salesman or the President of the United States because I talk so much. 
5. When I was in elementary and middle school, I always got “Needs Improvement” on my citizenship grade for “talking excessively.” But it was really my teacher’s fault for listening excessively…
6. Blogging has been an important part of my life since sophomore year of high school. I see it as an important opportunity to slow down and reflect on my life. 
7. I take a lot of pictures, but not because I’m talented or artsy. I just like pictures because they capture memories that I can relive on my computer screensaver, or on Facebook.
8. I used to be obsessed with video blogging. My 2011 New Year’s resolution was to document my life in video form, and I think that was quite successful considering I made over 50 vlogs. When I’m bored, I go on YouTube and relive 2011 in vlog form.
9. I am, unfortunately, addicted to caffeine. The mark of my true friends? They know exactly what I always order from Starbucks (with the specificity of the number of pumps of vanilla syrup I like in my lattes). 
10. I lack any form of artistic creativity. 
11. I want to have a beach wedding. The beach is probably my favorite place- I just love the peacefulness of crashing waves and how unlimited the ocean feels.
12. As weird as it may seem, I love airports. There’s just something exciting about the anonymity and the busyness that make airports so fun. 
13. On the note about airports, I really like to travel. Exploring foreign countries and trying to understand different cultures has always been a very interesting and enlightening experience for me. I’m blessed because my parents are both scientists, and I’ve accompanied them to meetings all around the world.
14. My life runs on Google Calendar. I’m literally out of colors for different calendars. 
15. I love food. I love food so much that I write unnecessary Yelp reviews for all the restaurants I’ve eaten at. It’s gotten to the point where I’m embarrassingly proud of my Elite Yelper status.
16. My iPod has not been updated since sophomore year of high school, so don’t judge me if my playlist looks like it was lost in 2009. 
17. I used to be a swimmer. Now I’m a swammer.
18. My favorite book is If You Could Hear What I See by Kathy Buckley. It actually changed my life.
19. I’ve been incredibly interested in politics since middle school. I used to take sides, but I have recently become frustrated after seeing political parties constantly emphasize party unity instead of debating the merits of practical solutions. The reality is that sometimes the Democrats are right, and sometimes the Republicans are right. The problem comes when neither side is willing to admit that. I think politics should really be about finding the best solution that is a compromise between all of our conflicting values and viewpoints- politics should not be a game of winners and losers. 
20. I think superstitions are stupid, but I still abide by them just in case I’m the stupid one.
21. If I could be any fruit, I would be a tomato because in 1893, the US Supreme Court ruled in Nix v. Hedden that a tomato ought to be legally classified as a vegetable rather than a fruit. But botanically, tomatoes are fruits. And tomatoes are probably the only fruit/vegetable to ever get involved in a legal battle, which is pretty awesome.
22. This may sound trite, but almost everybody I meet, I consider a role model in some way or another. I think that no matter who you are and what you do, there is something that you do better than I do. For that, I look up to you.
23. My political crush is Cory Booker (we are friends on LinkedIn and he follows me on Twitter… so what if he doesn’t know my name?).
24. Raising a family and being a good father is one of my biggest life goals. 
25. I consider myself an optimist, but I hate how cliché that sounds. I really do try to see the brighter side of things, though. It makes life more enjoyable, don’t you think? And plus, smiles confuse approaching frowns… so I guess you can say I try my best to confuse the hell out of everybody :)