"Fancy Dinners and Board Luncheons"

What a week.

The LEAP Awards Dinner and Board Luncheon were both... amazing. To be honest, I was scared out of my mind--of being inappropriately dressed, of being an awkward conversationalist, of dropping Bill Imada's award--but by the time things are said and done, I had a really good time.

At both Midwest Asian American Student Union's Fall Leadership Retreat and Spring Conference, the gathering concludes (officially, which overlooks the unofficial, non-affiliated club/afterparty) with a banquet dinner. Everyone gets dressed up, eats fancy food in a fancy room, listens to a keynote and then entertainment. I've always been a little weirded out by this ceremony, like we don't have much to celebrate. Being at the LEAP dinner, though, made me realize that MAASU's banquet is a performance, of sorts. An imitation of the kind of life we'd like to lead, where we are influenial, visible, successful community members who do have something to celebrate. The real thing made me so excited for the future. For my future. Because, as I told Morgan-Stanely table-mate Gilbert Tong, I am going to do great things. I still retain the blinding optimism of youth and believe that I can make a difference. He laughed, said that he was old and pessimistic, but does think he'll hear of me again. I told him he would. Then we talked about Ayn Rand. He likes Ayn Rand.

LEAP's leadership training has made such a difference for me. Meeting lots of new people didn't seem so intimidating. I even approached a couple of people I wanted to talk to, made conversation, made connections. Part of the ease came because I felt good in my dress--Susan Jin Davis complimented my dress (score, right?)--and self-confidence is even better than alcohol at warming you up to new situations.

But, yeah, I'm pretty sure I mastered this networking thing. (Brushes dirt of shoulder) Check it out. If you're not sure who you want to meet, stand by yourself somewhere, preferably with a glass in hand. Look mildy interested in your surroundings, but be careful: Too interested and you appear to be searching for someone; too disinterested and you've become unapproachable. Wait to make eye contact with someone, then engage in small talk about the event, the food, your lime green nametag, the weather, whatever. Pretty soon you're in a full fledged conversation, perhaps discussing Michigan football with John Chiang or Hollywood's influence on American culture with David Ono. Easy, right?

Maybe I got a lucky break. I'm not from here, so people always want to know what's Michigan like, to talk about the Auto industry, football, or cross-country roadtrips, to advise me on the L.A. hotspots I cannot afford to miss. On the other hand, I'd like to believe I'm delightful and charming, and a wonderful reflection on LEAP's LIA program.

Seriously though, I cannot accurately express what an amazing experience this internship has been, how eye-opening and potentially life-changing the dinner was, or how grateful I am that I'm here. It's crazy to think about, but, this is my life.

This is how people should feel all the time.