ABOUT
Philosophy training now has a practical role. It helps me test assumptions and distinguish a presenting request from underlying risk.
My move from philosophy into social work became concrete during Wuhan’s COVID-19 lockdown. Seeing anxiety, insomnia, and isolation around me, I led a six-person student team that built a peer-support community reaching nearly 500 students and connected participants with the university counseling center.
That experience changed my question from simply how to understand a problem to how to act responsibly within it. Across immigrant-family support, campus mental-health programs, and pediatric practice, I use this discipline to document the evidence behind a recommendation, challenge my first interpretation through supervision, and protect each client’s right to decide what happens next.
OUTSIDE PRACTICE
Outside practice, three quieter habits help me stay curious and grounded: making by hand, looking closely, and remaining willing to begin again.
I have been knitting consistently for ten months. Moving from a loose idea to a finished garment asks for patience, attention to detail, and a willingness to undo and begin again. It gives me a quiet way to slow down and notice my own inner rhythm.
I enjoy spending unhurried time in art museums—looking closely at how artists work with color, texture, perspective, and ordinary experience. Museums give me another way to encounter history and culture, while leaving room for interpretations that do not need to be resolved immediately.
Studying Japanese and French keeps me comfortable with being a beginner. Parks, books, travel, and making coffee give me slower ways to notice a place, reset, and return with more attention.