Because I was born a girl, nothing I ever did was good enough for my parents, especially for my Dad.  I was born a disappointment, the daughter that should have been a son.  In his mind, if his daughter can do something, it must have been easy, anyone else could have accomplished it as well.  For a very long time, I adopted the same mindset and viewpoint about my work, too. Yes, it kept me humble, but at a huge expense of my self-worth, to the point that I actively dimmed my light. But guess what Dad, not every woman, in fact not every human being, can do what I can do.  For the first time, I am going to show myself off.  I have listed everything I can think of today, and the only person who really needs to see this is actually me.  Yes, I am enough.  Just open your eyes and look, Jeanie, LOOK at yourself. 

• Beautiful craftsmanship in embroidering at age 4, kindergarten teachers showed it off to other parents
• Have great rhythm and precise moves, selected for kindergarten school dance competition
• A born leader, selected as Class Monitor at first grade, and as Head Class Monitor for every grade there after 
• Have great innate illustration and design skills, was school’s bulletin board design and content leader
• By the time we were about to immigrate to the US, I was elected as one of the “1000 Best Children” in China, my name was on the national newspaper (in a nation with billions of people, top 1000 is pretty damn good)
• I skipped couple grades after we moved to the US
• In high school I was #1 in AP Calculus and the kid received the most art awards, they call me the kid who got the left and right brain
• I won something for every art competition I entered (and neither of my folks went to any of the aware ceremonies)
• Winning one of the art competitions landed me on 3 different newspapers, one of them was a Chinese newspaper circulated in Northern America, my folks kept a copy at home
• My Coca Cola artwork winning entry was painted at 3 different locations in LA as murals
• I got a 4 in my AP Chemistry exam, and a 5 in AP Calculus, while taking all honor classes and submitting work to art competitions
• By the time I graduate, the school’s cafeteria has a mural prompting healthy eating designed by me and co-produced by me and a professional muralist
• I graduated high school with a 4.3-something GPA, Highest Honor, and one of 3 Outstanding Students of the Year 
• I made my first $100 by drawing/crafting my English teacher’s wedding invitation 
• In the last year of high school, I won an accumulative of  $1200 from art competitions 
• I got into the best university amount all my cousins and distant cousins, UC Berkeley, and the only one graduated on time, in 4 years, and with a 4.00 GPA, High Honor, and received multiple scholarships throughout the 4 years
• I had the best projects in architecture school each and every fucking semester, the kid that all professors saw with great potential 
• I got a job right out of college, the only kid in the entire extended family did that (Chinese families love to compare the kids, I gave my parents a lot of “face”)
• I started piano lessons as an adult and paid for all my lessons myself – 4 years
• I know how to tango
• I know how to code, C++, HTML, I built my own websites 
• I learned photography from my late piano teacher, and I have a great eye for competition
• I excelled at my first job, learned quickly, very quickly, in less than 3 years, I was entrusted to manage a ground up vacation home in Healsburg Sonoma County 
• By the time I leave Cali for grad school in 2010, I have under my belt 2 ground up houses, 2 remodels, and countless projects where I contributed to the design and production process under
• I designed 2 monographs for the office, and produced most of the graphic contents
• I designed a novel’s cover, still available for sale on Amazon
• I gave myself an photography art show before I left the Bay Areas for grad school, where my work was seen by strangers (my parents also did no attend)
• I got into grad school in the year with most applications, and I received scholarships to attend
• Again, I was a minor icon at arch school, The Jeanie Fan with her signature projects
• The UT campus is dotted with my graphic work
• I helped a young professor start his business in Austin
• I co-produced a book with a professor on home purchasing in the US’s big track home producing companies 
• I graduated from grad school on time and with High Honors, but my parents didn’t attend my graduation 
• I won an AIA award for one of my projects in the unbuilt category 
• I got myself to NYC, and landed the jobs that I needed to get to where I needed to be
• I moved myself across the country multiple times — just me, the phone, and movers
• I moved up the career ladder at a steady pace 
• I passed all the exams and got licensed, took the shortest path, 5 exams only
• I built a comfortable life style in Bedstuy, BK
• The 8 years in NYC have more internal growth that can’t be quantified, and usually only one’s family can appreciate/celebrate the achievements 
• I finished a professor/friend’s NYC apartment remodel while holding down a full-time job
• I have been on 5 podcasts with publishing company that specializes in A/E studying guides, they like what I have to offer
• I am very good at what I do, I am a competent architect who’s got an eye for design, the brain for codes, and the heart for my clients and community 
• I am starting my own business, in the works, launching in 2022
• [and many many more empty space to fill for upcoming ventures]