Manage Expectations So You Can Do More - You Have Nothing To Lose

Entering the fourth year of my New York life, I noticed one thing: my friends are either working in finance or tech, or they are doing art.

Study shows that in 2018, over 50% international graduates launched their career in STEM (Science/Tech/Economics/Engineering), and it's not hard to find articles and media for this group of audience.

But for the 10% who studied arts, there’s not so much story easily found online.

Studying art could be a dreamy experience in New York, considering you get the Met, Broadway, Juilliard music school and more. But it is also insanely competitive, especially for the internationals.

What does it take for international students to continue to pursue art after school? It’s such a challenging path. They need to express themselves regardless of cultural differences and language difficulties. They have to find jobs that work with their visa limitations. Not to mention the stressful hustling. All these are way more than enough to stop those who's used to their comfort zone.

But from my observation, it seems that most of the time they are not bothered by that. Don't get me wrong, no one said that it's easy. It's just they are too busy to worry too much, and these reflections - Can I do it? Is it worth it, all these efforts? -- they come up too often and become a daily mental exercise. Not a reason to stop them.

I feel inspired just by watching them. No need to wait until they are successful or famous. Just by watching them live, I get encouraged by the energy.

Today my guest Vivi Hu is someone who impressed me at our first meeting. She is a jazz singer, and she approached me at a social event. She said she's interested in taking an interview (I introduced this series earlier at the event). Many Asians I saw are relatively shy, and they rarely talked to strangers at social events. It is a stereotype, but it also describes my impressions most of the time. So I immediately wanted to get to know her more.

Vivi Hu, a Jazz singer who composes and manages her own band

I asked her how did she position herself in a completely new world when she first arrived from China.

"It really matters how you set your expectation," she said. "One small goal a time, and be happy whenever you achieve it. Then you move on to something slightly bigger."

This is her tip. Using this tip, she finished her school and founded her own band. She acts as the vocal as well as the manager of the band.

Wanna know more about her? Me too! Let's start the chat.