A photo that shaped me.

This is the photo that defined who I am going to be professionally. It was taken in front of ABN-AMRO BANK in Shanghai Financial District. I guess from my childhood, I was amazed about how people could create assets from moving assets around to generate more. However, I was never able to tap into an area I wanted to be in. After looking at myself in this photo I realized I felt cool about banking.

The feeling about banking system put me through my high school and drove me to take SATs when I barely spoke English, because I knew I needed to come to the States to learn more about my interest. Carrying my feelings forward, I became deeply interested in numbers and stuff. Later on I was led into trading industry by a mentor.

I always think if I did not go to Shanghai in the summer the photo was taken, I probably would never realize I was into banking. Without my interest in banking industry, I probably would never become interested in math. Without being good at math and financial risk management, I would never be introduced to my mentor and got to know about trading business.

To an even broader sense, that photo actually shaped my personality. My interest in banking led me to a lot of readings on bankers and traders. The readings inspired my eagerness for recognition and feeling of success, which drove me all the way to the point where I am today. When I am at work, I would display this eagerness and aggressiveness, but when I am off, I am just tired and became speechless for most part of the night. I don’t know if this is good or not, but at least I know this is who I am today and I will be this way for the next five or ten years.