I am taking ECO352 with Mr. Satchu this term. In his class, my heart beats faster than usual, and my mind multi-tasks in order to think thoroughly about what the conversation truly means.

Am I a piece of material for entrepreneur?

No - making money by delivering value is not something I would do. I usually provide value for free, such as volunteering; sending out my study notes to peers; and so forth. I felt much more comfortable receiving money through conventional ways, for instance, receiving salary. How could a person who is uncomfortable with monetary relationships be an entrepreneur?

But also yes - I constantly seek better opportunities, think, innovate, improve, and completely re-engineer. I like dramatic changes in life. I do not like status quo. I feel ashamed being the same old me. I dropped out of a highly reputable medical school in China for an opportunity to start over in Canada. There were many unknowns. But unknowns excited me. There were many risks. There was also lots of stress as I have forgone a stable life in China. I understood exactly what I gave up, and just for this reason, I did what it takes to compete with Canadians. Persistent. Decisive. Diligent. Taking on more than expected. These qualities provide evidence of my entrepreneurial personality.

A few words Mr. Satchu said yesterday made me think a lot. What he learned the most from giving up a job at RBC and heading to the Wall Street is: he realized he could compete with the most intelligent people in the world, if not did better.

How big did I dream? When you try to dream big, there will always be people who tell you to stop and be realistic. My advice is not to listen to them. Keep dreaming big. When I just came to Canada, a teacher of mine commented on me “sometimes Ying demands too high from herself”. I knew he referred to my ex-goal of becoming a doctor given my awkward English at the time and how competitive it is to get into a medical school. Three and half years have passed. With my current academic performance, work experience and leadership qualities; I would probably be a strong candidate for medical school (except I chose not to apply). Not only have those people, but also had I stopped myself from dreaming big for many times. When I got a part time job at ** bank in my second year, I lowered my CGPA goal to be 3.50 since I expect my CGPA to be lower if spending over 20 hours per week on the job instead of studying. By the end, I got A+ on all the courses of the year while handling the job. It is probably nothing special to many other talented students, but it meant something to me: I can handle more than what I have taken on and I should have dreamt even bigger to discover my full potential. Language is not a barrier. Culture is not a barrier. To compete with people who were born in Canada or grew up here, it all depends on whether you can break through the barrier created by your mindset. I realized I can compete with the most talented young Canadians, and I can do better. Not yet proven, but I will.