Heyo I’m Jacky
I used to think life would make sense once I got everything “right.”
The right school. The right job. The right next step.
And for a while, that’s how I lived — chasing the version of success that looked good on paper.
Here’s the quick version:
Grew up in a low-income, first-gen Chinese American household
2019 — graduated from Swarthmore, then took a gap year to Taiwan to study Mandarin
2020 — came back to America and started my my first “big boy” job in consulting
2022 — made the “exit” into tech doing one of those sexy strategy/bizops roles at Adobe. Better pay, better hours, better on paper … exciting at first
2024 — but after 2 years and a promotion, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off
That’s when I realized: I was always chasing the next thing that would fix everything.
The right title. The better job. The cleaner story.
Maybe the grass is greener over there, I kept thinking.
But every time I got there, I was still me.
So I left the 9-5 behind, about a month ago as of writing this in April 2025.
What I’m up to these days (Updated Apr. 2025)
Acting! I started training back in 2022 and recently got into Atlantic’s 6-week conservatory. Might write more about that soon.
Figuring out what to do with my YouTube channel (stay in the Mandarin learning lane? try something new? still strategizing.)
Learning to barista and helping my girlfriend run her floating café
Wondering if I should live abroad again (Taiwan round 2? Japan? Spain? Idk)
If you’re thinking about similar stuff or got thoughts, questions, or strong opinions about any of the above — I’m all ears.
Would genuinely love to hear from you.
Welcome to the (sometimes) greener side.
Part personal essay, part career reflection, part “wait, is this normal??”
