In the summer of 2006 I was inspired to do something that intrinsically would never even cross my mind. I was born and raised to be risk averse. My parents, being the steadfast material providers that they are, taught me not to look out for myself, but rather to avoid confrontation altogether. Their old-fashioned, Eastern-centered way of raising children had a profound effect on the way I lived my life. However, their propensity for negative reinforcement and their inability to show physical affection have never stopped me from having a fulfilling and reasonably successful life. One great void, or what I perceived as such, was my lack of worldly experience. I was eligible to apply for a U.S. passport for at least five years before I finally decided to get one before the summer of 2006, at age 27. This phenomenon occurred only because I had agreed to travel, with my friends, outside of the United States. North America for the first time. This was the summer I ran with the bulls during the world-famous San Fermín festival in Pamplona, ​​Spain. This experience shaped the course of my life for the next three years and beyond. Not unlike most immigrant children forced to grow up in a foreign land, I struggled with my identity as I was pressured by my parents to assimilate and "fit in" as quickly and quietly as possible. I had to blend into my environment like a chameleon perched on a low branch, waiting to strike its next prey, but never knowing who it might be. Assimilate, what exactly does it mean for a five year old? I had already killed my festering Chinese accent in the first year I arrived here. My reading and writing recovery levels were forced down until they too were off in less than…half a sheet of paper…then I emailed my sister to let her know I'm still alive. A few hours later she responds by saying, “Good. Mom and Dad want to know if this means you won't move to New York now.” Five days after Pamplona I had arrived in Manhattan, not as a completely new person, but as someone who had been lost and then found. I wasn't lost because I had trouble finding my way, but simply out of the sheer ignorance of not knowing what to look for. I had finally found myself. The following year I traveled throughout Italy for two weeks witnessing incredible relics and works of antiquity. I also "supported" the leaning tower of Pisa. Last year I finally returned to Taiwan to visit for two weeks too. Each experience connects to the previous one, culminating in who I am today. I will never forget my time in Spain and Pamplona and the impact it had on my life today.