Member-only story
My First Quarter of Life in 3 Minutes
Oh hey there, yeah, you! I’m Janet, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.
(For non-member, click here to read the full article)
I was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, in the ‘90s — probably a place you may not have heard of, or perhaps you might confuse it with Thailand.
I started learning classical piano when I was three and a half (I don’t remember how that happened — my mom probably learned more than I did at the time!). I almost pursued a professional music path until I realized I wasn’t “talented” enough, and my family didn’t have the resources to support that choice.
So, I gave up and endured three miserable years at one of the top high schools in Taipei. Afterward, I studied economics at university, although I had no idea what I wanted to do. I simply crossed out all the departments I was 300% sure I wouldn’t graduate from, and my score happened to land on economics at that school.
After 12 years of not knowing what I wanted to do, I headed to Paris, France, with a working holiday visa after graduating. It was August 2019. I brought €1,000 and two suitcases, hopped on a one-way flight, and stayed for seven months. Well, seven months because — like everyone knows — 2020 changed everything. I even experienced the very first (and strictest) “confinement” (lockdown) in Paris. I…
