I have observed that those who came from humble beginnings, fought their way upward and eventually obtained some measure of success, tend to have two drastically different narratives. One is: no one helped me; I did everything myself. The other one is: I owe my success to everyone who was there for me during this journey.
There was a time when I identified with the first narrative. There was a time, as a teenager and a fresh immigrant, I felt helpless in this country. I had to navigate an abusive household, battle financial difficulties, and find a career to pursue, all in the middle of nowhere in Texas. But looking back, even though the journey felt unbearably lonely, there were still people who helped me: those who had an extra bedroom gave me a place to stay every once in a while when the situation at home got too violent; restaurant owners gave me a job so I could earn a wage and be financially independent; my biology teacher from high school gave me a decent grade even though I could barely understand any English let alone the course material at the time; my art teacher threw me a party for my 16th birthday in the park.
The older I got, the more I identified with the second narrative. While I had to figure out by myself the transfer out of the middle of nowhere in Texas to Dallas, I am thankful that there was a public library near my apartment in Dallas; there, I read extensively about physics and decided to major in it. While I had to solicit all the physics professors at the university for a research position, I am thankful that, in the end, one of them gave me an opportunity, so I could start my research journey. These series of events launched me into a position to solicit more help from people and eventually get to where I am today. In a sense, it can be argued that no one helped me: I got myself out of a shithole, found out about my passion for physics without anyone’s guidance, and sought opportunities to advance myself. But the more accurate description would be: the society was structured so that there existed an opportunity for me to get out of a shithole, and I went for it; the public library, built by the taxpayers’ money, provided me with the resource to identify my passion for physics; the physics professor saw that I was passionate and persistent and decided to help me.
We live in a society where everyone is somehow tied to one another; It would be impossible for anyone to achieve anything purely by themselves, even though sometimes it could feel like it. Marcus Aurelius says that the meaning of our lives is to help one another. Those who believe they have received no help tend to be cynical and less willing to help others. Personally, I am grateful for everyone who played a role in my life and made me the person I am today, and I can’t wait to pay it forward. Heck, my gratefulness extends beyond human beings: today, in the lobby of my building, a fluffy golden dog showered me with affection and let me pet her for 5 minutes straight. It put me in a great mood all day, and I greeted everyone I walked by with a big smile. Today I owe my happy mood and productivity to that beautiful dog.
The Logical Offering 