Today, I met a college classmate at a coffee shop near Pier 2 in Brooklyn. As we chatted, we discovered that we both knew the same person—a connection neither of us had been aware of before. The conversation brought back a blog I had written in 2023, about her daughter, Tiantian jiejie.
3/5/2023, yesterday, we went to the American Museum of Natural History with the children. On the way, I told them that I would like to interview Tiantian jiejie about her career path. She has had a very interesting journey, and I’m curious about the thinking behind her decisions. But she is very busy right now.
I shared her story with them. She was born in China, came to Ohio at age seven and half in the fall of 1988, studied philosophy at Harvard University, earned a master’s degree in theology from the University of Chicago, and then returned to Harvard Law School. After that, she worked at WilmerHale as a senior associate. Nearly three years later, she left her job, went to China, and spent about five years starting a company. Then back in the United States in her late 30s, she tried her hand at baking. Today she is a mother of three young children, running a successful bakery business.
Normally, people know what they want to do when they choose a college major, and then follow a path from school into a related career. But she seems to have spent years exploring different interests and trying new things. I am interested in identifying a central thread that runs through her experiences. I also want to think of a message I can share with the parents in our online group. What is it? I asked my children.
My son said that it is perfectly okay to spend years exploring and figuring out what you want to do with your life. Some people take a few years; others need more time. I think the most important part of her story is that she takes time to ask herself, “Is this what I want?” instead of rushing from one goal to the next without reflection. Some people spend their entire lives doing things they don’t enjoy. Others never discover their passions because they never try anything new. It reminds me of an unexamined life. I think she is remarkable. I would really like to hear how she herself makes sense of her journey.
My daughter said she is very courageous—not afraid to start over, even at this stage of her life, even after attending Harvard Law School. The message, she said, might be: don’t limit yourself to one path just because that is what you studied in college.
Well said. Thank you to both of them.