A Teenager’s 2015 Year-in-Review

Hey, my name is Lan.

I’m an 18-year-old student in San Francisco. In the past year, I’ve grown up a lot. This is more of an opportunity for me to sit back, appreciate, and reflect. If we’ve ever crossed paths, if you’ve ever made me question my beliefs, if you’ve ever taught me anything; thank you.

Here’s a compilation of the experiences that I’ve been privileged to come across in 2015:

I made new friends. (hey there, Janet, Khizer, and Eric)

I tried playing the trumpet.

I went to Prom. It was on a boat. My boutonnière fell into the ocean.

I helped my team place in California DECA’s state-wide conference. The all-nighters were totally worth it.

I campaigned for Speaker Pro-Tempore in Youth & Government and spoke to hundreds of people.

I helped make an app called “RealFare” that estimated the cost of Uber trips at Hacking Generation Y.

I helped introduce 1,000 kids to programming during HSHacks II.

Vivian and I tried ‘hacking’ a food line. It worked. (kinda)

I worked as California Boys State’s Jr. Media Counselor and helped lead 1,000 students.

I went outside for once. Nature is kinda cool!

I asked Mark Zuckerberg about his thoughts on diversity in tech.

I supported my favorite baseball team during a losing season. (go A’s!)

I moved into my own apartment in San Francisco.

My best friend and I convinced thousands of people to help us meet Taylor Swift. (it worked)

I became ‘best-homies’ with my roommate and learned about the wonders of steam-mops. (seriously, go buy your own right now)

I learned that cooking and living on your own is hard.

I helped out with Hacking EDU (the world’s largest education hackathon) and met Sal Khan, Dave Fontenot, and Sam Altman.

I impersonated a Dolby sponsor for a few hours.

I interned at a world-class science museum. I got to check out cool things like this everyday.

I met some dude named Martin O’Malley. Apparently, he’s running for President. We talked about hackathons. He’s been to one.

I got to be a model for a day.

I sat on a wine train and wasn’t allowed to drink wine.

I helped introduce 250 kids to programming at CodeDay Bay Area.

I hung out with my favorite people (family)!!!!

If you’re reading this, you were probably a part of my life in the past year. Thank you for helping to shape my year. I have a feeling that 2016 has a lot more to offer. (emoji-wink-face)