I know you are but what am I? I'm just me, MLE.

My name is Emily, and I've Lived with Depression & Anxiety.

Do you ever feel like people judge you or look down on you for something that seems so different about you?  Well, don't fear, because you are going to learn that...

If you can't understand how amazing you are, then you're in disbelief. I was in disbelief throughout my whole life. I went through life always second, third, fourth guessing myself. I was taught to be perfect, and that if I wasn't perfect, I thought that I would not be worthy of being loved. I became a perfectionist, and often my demon would tell me that I wasn't good enough, & that I would never be good enough.  This contributed to my low self-esteem.  The mentally abusive Dr. Hyde caused me to have a poor self-image of myself.    

However, the situation gradually changed over my life when I started learning about people like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, Desmond Tutu, Michael Jackson, Ai Wei Wei, Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Degeneres... All of them have passion to use their talents to make a positive influence on society.

When I was in junior high, MLK Jr. influenced the way I would think.  He truly became an inspirational person in my growth as an individual.  I saw how he would tell his African American brothers & sisters during the Civil Rights Movement (my version of what he would say to uplift his African American community), "You are NO worse or better than the White Man."  In the same way, I thought of my classmates in grade school, "Unpopular kids, you are no worse or better than the popular kids!" So yeah... I learned about racism and the ideas of oppression at an early age in life... It sucks to be bullied. Who ever likes to feel worse than others?! (PLEASE no one raise your hand!) But anyhow, we are all equal on this Earth no matter what our socioeconomic background, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, etc. We are ALL one BIG Human Family on this planet we call Mother Earth. Let's all stand together as one. Are you with me?!  

History of this Blog

The interesting thing about this blog is that I had actually wanted to start this blog back in 2010, but I didn't have the courage to actually start it until now --> 3 years later in July 2013! But NOW my blog of OPTIMISM is finally UP & RUNNING!! So I am HAPPY! Yeah!! :D But now I am picking up the pieces of my old dream... And NOW I am truly living! YESS!! xD

Please check out my "About MLE" page to see what my new endeavors are now in the community. Despite the twists and turns life has taken me in, down, and around, I know now that my future is bright, & that life will just be AWESOME. :)

Open-Mindedness Needs to be Taught

The older Asian 1st generations don't really teach their kids to be open-minded. As a result, kids aren't so open-minded to think about what the earlier Asian immigrants went through to get to where we are today.They only seem to think about what is right in front of them, and then the older generation thinks that we're just spoiled & selfish brats because we got it so much easier than them compared to when they were growing up. However, what they don't understand is that we DO live in a different time and place. So I've had my own personal conflicts with Asian elders, but I suppose it's allowed me to separate my own values from theirs. They grew up in a culture where they were supposed to obey their elders and do whatever they said, like good little sons & daughters. In a way, they were almost like brain-washed human beings, like robots in a way. However, this is why my mom is glad she brought our family over to America... So that we could think for ourselves, and I AM greatful for that :)

We Are All Works in Progress

Know how to help yourself before you can truly help anyone else. Set an example for others if you know how. However, I know this is a constant life-long learning process. So you don't HAVE to be perfect because we are ALL works-in-progress. There are lessons to be learned in everything that we face from day to day. Without these lessons, we don't challenge ourselves to be better than who we already are. So work on being the BEST person you can be!! See your true potential in life! KNOW that you don't have to have ALL the answers right now. It takes time to find the answers to life. So just chill & relax from time to time. Take a moment to breathe & just be with yourself. KNOW that you were made for success in this life. You CAN reach your highest potential if you just believe in it. Have confidence in yourself! I have confidence in you!! ;)

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

During my TEFL program, I wrote the following paragraph for one of our 1st writing assignments.

September 9, 2004

The Great Qualities of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., known for his immense involvement with the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, he held noteworthy traits as a leader. He possessed great ideals, was full of perseverance, and was well-spoken. Dr. King was a well-respected clergyman and civil rights leaders, who was known for his ideologies. During his time, there was much racial segregation, and African Americans were treated very poorly by the Caucasians who persecuted them. However, Dr. King wanted to change this. He wanted everyone to treat everyone equally despite the color of one’s skin or religious background. Dr. King wanted to give everyone a sense of self-worth. Dr. King strongly opposed the use of violence to respond to injustice because violence would not result in any positive resolutions. Instead, violence would only lead to more violence. Consequently, Dr. King encouraged the practice of nonviolence resistance to stand against the racial segregation. Also, Dr. King’s ability to persevere to made him an outstanding leader. Even though he was arrested about thirty times for participating in civil rights activities, he continued to fight against the racial injustice and persisted on spreading his message of equality. In addition, Dr. King was a great speaker. He made many speeches, but he is most noted for his most eloquent speech which is called “I Have a Dream.” In this speech, he spoke with a strong and clear voice to a very large crowd in Washington. Whether he made a speech to a large crowd of people or in his church, he spoke with a captivating voice. Because of his words and messages of social equality and nonviolence, charismatic speeches, and endurance through hardships, Dr. King brought such noteworthy significant changes to U.S. history that his birthday, January 15th, was made a holiday in remembrance of him and his charismatic leadership.

How to introduce myself...

HELLO WORLD!! :) This is my very FIRST blog here on blogger, & I was thinking about how I should start it. So I figured that I’d write a little bit about myself. :)

My name is Emily Wu, a Taiwanese American 28 year old (soon to be 29) who truly ENJOYS learning about the world!! :) Life has taken me through many circumstances which have led me to become an optimistic and passionate individual. Through the many years trying to figure out what my life purpose was, I always knew my goal in life was to somehow help people for the sake and betterment of society. I wanted to be an inspirational leader and role model in my community, but I often did not know what type of role that would specifically be. However, through time and patience, I am VERY happy to say that I've finally found my passion and calling in life. :D I will be aspiring towards becoming a motivational speaker & then the next Asian American Oprah Winfrey. Though this dream may seem far-fetched, I have the confidence that it will happen sooner or later because I KNOW I have the potential to fill these shoes & I am DETERMINED to see this through!! :D Life is GOOD!! :)