Leaders in my Life

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.
John Quincy Adams

I used to blog on MySpace and when I did that I had a common theme... gratitude for my friends. I have always been pretty grateful for the friends I have in this world. I am not the most trusting person so those who I manage to trust enough and let into my world... well, they tend to be incredible people with big hearts and open minds. They are oftentimes the source of inspiration and courage in my life.

I'm dedicating my blog today to my friends in whom I have found inspiration and perhaps the courage to follow my own ambitions--I am grateful to them for their presence in my life as a pillar of strength and faith. I am grateful to them for allowing me into their world as much as I let them in mine. Not all of these friends are lifelong friends--some came into my life and left as swiftly as they arrived but will always remain in my heart as someone who inspired me. Those friends are Liv, Colleen and Scott.

Liv is a friend I met in college. She always seemed to be bursting with some type of energy that college just couldn't ocntain. Now she's in DC, working on the hill and helping important pieces of legislature be formed and helping to make important decisions. Talking to her now, she seems to incredibly well suited for where she is. In a time of our life where many of my friends have found comfort in jobs that have led to careers, she is one of the few who has really strived and made the most of herself and her potential.

Colleen and I go way back. Waaaay back. She consistently shows me what inner strength means. Despite her somewhat oppressive parents (yay Asian parents), her rigorous studies and some of the obstacles she has faced, she has graduated from Cal Berkeley and is now finishing pharmacy school at USC and is doing incredibly well--as well as remaining gorgeously smiley, if that makes sense. She is one of my favorite people from our hometown.

Scott is the first person I met in between Madrid and Rome. He had just finished his Bar exam and was "patiently" waiting on a Euro trip for his results. His presence on this trip fortified every moment of Europe for me. His sense of humor about life, his patient perspective on people, and his faith in love helps inspire me to this day, over 4 years later.

Of course I have more friends I could write about--Sara, Sunny, Casey, etc. I should write about family and their heroics. But I can only write so much for now. I was inspired the other day by these friends and I had to mention them. I'm truly lucky to know them and I'll be really lucky if they feel an ounce of that esteem for me.
Their lives are an inspiration to myself, and perhaps others, that faith in our own conviction and hard work, some sacrifice, and perhaps a laugh can pay off. They are leaders in my life by being the leaders of their own....