Part of That World

Hello World 👋 🌎

After many years of writing in my personal journal and taking photos of stuff, I have decided to catalog and share some of my thoughts and experiences with friends and family via this blog. Thank you for being here 😄

I'm Hanna! This is me:

A few quick facts:

  • Oldest of three kids, with one sister and one brother
  • Ethnically Chinese, culturally American
  • Born in Vancouver, Canada
  • Raised in Bethesda, Maryland
  • Enjoy soccer, running, hiking, triathloning(?), most sports really
  • Enjoy playing piano, singing loudly in the shower
  • Great at eating, bad at cooking
  • MIT '17 (BS) and '18 (MEng) in Computer Science
  • Startup founder and software engineer
  • Tractor enthusiast (iykyk)

I have always had an adventurous spirit and also happen to be a Disney movie fan. This blog name is thus inspired from a song in The Little Mermaid and reflects my desire to (a) be a part of and experience the world to its fullest and (b) share parts of my world with my loved ones.

I basically write about whatever I feel like writing about!

Why Blog?

I am generally not very share-y on social media at least for the past many years. What then would motivate me to write a blog, which seems like it provides even more detail on my life and thoughts? Here are the core reasons:

  1. Writing, especially longer form writing, is a skill that I don’t want to lose.
  2. I want a forcing function to make me pause and reflect on moments in my life instead of letting my thoughts disappear into the ether. I look forward to rereading my posts when I’m older.
  3. A random personal blog is not very discoverable unless promoted so it actually feels more intimate than social media.
  4. I see this blog as something that exists primarily for myself plus closer friends and family. This view reduces the amount of pressure I feel getting started and I think will encourage me to write more. (In other words, even if content is imperfect and no one reads it or no one likes it that’s fine!)
  5. I care about keeping the important people in my life in the loop and have accepted I can't talk to everyone constantly and so some more durable method for sharing my thoughts is valuable.
  6. Larry has a blog and it inspired me to do the same!

Posts

The first major topic of the blog is my sabbatical / career break, which is from April 2026 - Dec 2026. You can check out my posts in the Blog tab in the main menu bar.

I aspire to continue to write about future topics and also to backfill topics from previous years of life! Some ideas that may be on the way:

  • Planning My Own Wedding
  • Founder Journey
  • My Favorite Foods
  • Learning Chinese
  • Happiness and Sadness are Positive Feedback Loops
  • Things I Like: Disproportionate Enjoyment
  • Things I Don't Like: Bizarre Fears and Aversions
  • What is Success?
  • Relationship Principles
  • Life During Covid: Zoom Parties, Living at Home, T Shirt Quilt

Closing Thoughts

It would be great if my writing helps me connect or reconnect with people. Please reach out if you'd like to share a reaction to my posts or swap stories, even if we haven't spoken for a while. I'd love to chat.

Every word in this blog is written by me, with no AI. I've found since my school years that the process of distilling my thoughts onto paper provides value beyond the final product. I am not an AI hater but it's important to me that my personal content comes 100% from me.

Again, thank you for being here and have a great day! ☀️