Don’t Let Your Circumstances Define Who You Are

If you ask anyone to describe me as the person I am today, you’ll likely get these responses: outgoing, hardworking, and jack-of-all-trades.

But, the truth is, I wasn’t always this confident. While I completely embrace the person I’ve become, there was a different side of me many people don’t know.

I’m a first-generation immigrant from southern China who was bullied as a young child, moved to America without speaking English, and ultimately became the first in my family to graduate from a four-year university in the United States. Today, I am a manager of Global Thought Leadership at FiscalNote, where I help organize exclusive events and thought leadership content for business leaders at leading global companies as part of the FiscalNote Executive Institute.

Growing up in China, I dealt with bullying throughout elementary school. My classmates regularly made fun of my unusual Chinese name and my physical appearance. My teachers also contributed to this painful experience by continuously reprimanding me in front of the class for circumstances outside of my control. Eventually, even my close friends at school started alienating me.

Sometimes, when I think back to those painful experiences, I still get emotional. I can vividly remember how vulnerable and powerless I felt, and that same feeling would keep coming back day after day as I was getting ready for school.

To a perceived outsider, I’ve always kept my head up and never let any of the negative comments bother me. In reality, those experiences have had a tremendous impact on my self-esteem. It took a long time to heal those wounds.

When I moved to the United States at age 12 without speaking English, I once again found myself in the same situation: struggling to fit in and excel at school. This time, I did not let my insecurities get the best of me. I was tired of letting my circumstances define who I am. Knowing I had an opportunity to start over, I did everything I could to overcome my language barrier and strived to prove that anything is possible if you work hard for it.

Through a teacher in my middle school, I discovered an opportunity to attend the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts High School — the district’s number-two public school. But, admission was contingent upon my ability to pass an art performance evaluation. After taking a two-year break from playing the violin, it was clear that I was not ready to audition by myself.

To support me through this process, my parents hired a private teacher to help me relearn everything in English and coach me through a new audition repertoire. Growing up in a low-income household, I knew my parents would not be able to afford my violin lessons with their regular salaries, but they found a way to pay for it anyway. After two months of preparation, I was fortunate to be one of the few students to be admitted into the school during the first round of auditions.

Over the next two years, my parents continued to pay for my violin lessons, even when they knew that it would put a significant financial strain on the entire family. To alleviate their burden, I took up two part-time jobs after school to pay for my lessons and save up for college. While it was not easy to juggle the responsibilities of being a full-time student, having two jobs, and keeping up with orchestra practices, my hard work eventually paid off.

Exposure to a professional work setting at a young age helped me secure a competitive internship during my freshman year — and two more federal internships post-graduation. It also laid the foundation for all the future opportunities that led me to my current job at FiscalNote.

There are many reasons why FiscalNote is an attractive company to work for, but what drew me in was its focus on core company values such as #SupportTheFamily and #BiasForAction. As someone who did not grow up in a supportive and inclusive learning environment as a young child, I wanted to use my stories to uplift and inspire others. FiscalNote gave me the platform to do just that.

Leveraging our company’s Slack instance, I created and launched an #asian-and-aapi (Asian and Asian American Pacific Islander) channel to connect people from diverse backgrounds so they can share stories that are important to their heritage and identities. One of the engagement activities we are looking to launch is the #asian-and-aapi Netflix Watch Party series, where we showcase films from a different country every month.

With this growing community, I know that we will continue to drive change and inclusivity within our organization and make it a better work environment for everyone. I am committed to finding a way to connect the people around me and open doors for others.

As I’ve learned over time, I gravitate toward overcoming challenges and helping others break through their own barriers. Whether in my personal or professional life, I aim to prove I am able to tackle any obstacles thrown at me and excel at that responsibility.

If there is anything that inspires you from my story, I hope it is that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. As long as you work hard and believe in yourself, the sky is truly the limit.

An abridged version of Annie’s essay was featured on the Women in Government Relations blog in June 2020.