The Pursuit of Happiness

It probably comes to no surprise to those that have known me for more than a week is that I am an absolute travel junkie. I think that happiness can be deeply rooted in geography—we tie our memories and all of our experiences to places—and therefore the more places we go, the more memories we have, the happier we are, quod erat demonstrandum. Stepping out of the ordinary and exploring somewhere new is exhilarating and always refreshing. Boredom is created out of monotony, but by placing yourself in a new place, everything—food, sights, smells, people—will all be new and one will actually have to make an asserted effort to be bored. And while Unfortunately, very few get to travel around the globe they want on a whim, but the good news is there are always new places to be found. Whenever I go home, I try to explore new spots in Boston and am still learning my way around Columbus.

As a whole, I love to travel because I love to explore and cross places off my bucket list, but I get the most happiness in places oozing with history. This may be a little abstract or too obscure, but I get a lot of pleasure from reading, learning, or seeing historic events and places. It may sound strange, but I just get joy from history. Growing up, my house was filled to the ceiling with books in every room of my house, almost all of which were about history from the emergence of man on earth to man's first trip to space. While most kids were reading Harry Potter my dad bought me collections of history books. Almost every car ride or dimmer, my dad would lecture and retell the exploits of Frederick the Great or Genghis Khan..those were my bedtime stories. Even when I stepped out of the front door I was slapped in the face with history. Going to hangout with friends in downtown in Boston, we'd be surrounded by the sites that the Founding Fathers started our country. Whether it is visiting a historical place or learning about an historical event, I think the warm glow I receive is because I vicariously am able to participate in what happened.

And last but certainly not least, of course home is the everlasting fountain of happiness. I have been blessed beyond measures with an amazing,  loving, supportive family that never ceases to positively build me up and give me the strength I need. Without them, I would have never been able to pursue my peripheral sources of happiness--traveling and indulging myself in history. It's all tied back to Boston and back to my family. Home is where the international experiences can be instantly grabbed, where history is unavoidable, and where I receive more positivity and rejuvenation than anywhere that I'd be able to travel to. I may not be able to go to Italy anytime I want but I can get to the Italian area of Boston called the North End and order food that rivals those in the trattorias in Rome and then be quickly transported to 18th century America by stopping by Paul Revere's house. Home is where my heart is and I could not have asked for a better place to grow up in, come from, and go back to. I'm "wicked" proud of where I'm from, happy to be where I'm at, and excited to be where I'm going. 

Challenge Check-in

Yes, it's a vlog!

Exploring the Other

 For this “putting yourself in the other” challenge, I was paired with Dan. To begin with, Dan and I are already pretty much complete opposites—he’s about a foot taller than me and is a chemical engineer—height and science are not my fortes. I assumed at the beginning we’d have a pretty easy experience doing this challenge.

For my part in this cultural swap, I thought the best way to communicate my global openness was through food. So, I treated Dan to dinner at a Korean restaurant with some European cake as dessert (although I would have preferred to show him the wonders of New England cuisine). I think in this dinner of kimchi and chocolate cake, I tried to give Dan a pretty clear understanding of what makes me, me—I place heavy emphasis on diversity and exploration of new cultures. I chose Korean because I knew that it wasn’t as popular as Mexican or Chinese, and it might break new culinary grounds for his palette. And sure enough it was his first Korean meal. Even though we explored a new cuisine and culture, I did not feel that that was all who I am, because I don’t have a drop of Korean blood in me. So I bought him two of my favorite cakes, Sacher Torte and Esterhazy Torte, from Mozart’s Café. I feel that the European culture has had more of a direct influence on who I am. While I greatly appreciate and am infatuated with many other cultures, my family still celebrates and follows many customs of our European roots and it was through traveling to Europe that sparked my interest in discovering new cultures.

Later in the week, Dan brought me to a place I never thought I’d enter—Koffolt Lab, the home of the chemical engineering department. When I walked into the building it was like landing on another planet—the lighting was different, a strange odor filled the air, and anxious students rushed from classrooms into the computer labs to finish their projects. Dan was kind enough to show me the computer lab where he spends about 6 hours a day computing and simulating complex experiments on some pretty sweet touch screen computers (I was trying really hard to remember the correct terminology for the project he is working on right now but I don’t want to do an injustice and incorrectly describe his work). I had always thought that engineering was a pretty singular discipline subject, so when Dan showed me the project he was working on was for chemical engineering economics it took me off guard. My stereotype of engineers only limited to taking science and mathematics courses was completely debunked…maybe engineers aren’t so different after all. Having an insider’s perspective on what makes engineers tick also made me realize that engineering students don’t choose their major because of the cool touch screen computers, but value the problem solving skills that are developed. The engineering discipline is about solving problems and answering questions—two skills that can be translated across every discipline and career. Not every engineer wants to build bridges, and a good number of students who study engineering go on into fields that aren’t related to the subjects they study, but their problem solving skills are invaluable. I had very little awareness of what was going on in the typical engineering student’s mind, but now I can see that the skills learned in this field can transcend into many other disciplines.

Besides making me feel technologically inept, the trip to the Koffolt Labs really gave me a deeper appreciation for engineering students. I admired them for their abilities in math and science--but to hear the real reasons for pursuing an extremely difficult major was really awesome. It almost made me think about engineering...almost.