January

“The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t.” —Joshua Becker

I am not much into ceremonies, rituals associated with the holidays, or celebrations.  So you won’t see me at a wedding unless I have no choice - like my brother’s wedding - or putting up Christmas decorations or making a big deal of my birthday.  I think the reason why I love any holiday is because of the food or the opportunity to spend time with my niblings, a time when I can torture them with my immature experiments.  I know they secretly love it - yes, in my fantasy world but that is all I have sometimes.

As you can imagine, this holiday season was no different than previous ones except that one of my nieces (oh, family drama) could not join us and of course, the pandemic which has actually made it more enjoyable since I did not have to physically attend church or get together with my friends, acquaintances, or colleagues - I have not been in a social mood lately.  While I am not much for clicking the champagne glass and kissing my nonexistent partner, I do however appreciate the concept of the new year.  I try to use this time to take inventory of what is important and necessary and toss out everything that is not.  It may be a simple ritual of going through old bills to make space for new ones, going through my stacks of papers on my desk to get rid of useless notes, or cleaning out my computer of unused files and programs.  Or it may be the more difficult decision of cutting off contacts who have caused more pain and harm than not. Sometimes, it is easy to disconnect because obviously it was not meant to be (there were an obvious few) but at other times, it is painful to let go of people who don’t feel the same way about us.  People are unlike old bills, useless notes, or unused files in that we get more attached to, fond of, or perhaps come to care about deeply.  But it is a necessary process to make more time and energy for those who we need to prioritize. 

This new year, I am taking inventory of how we can grow Platform, what programs we need to cut out based on the people we do not want to draw or people with whom we need to cut ties so that we work with better people.  It has been a time for me to evaluate programs that have been beneficial to our audience and people with whom we can grow our relationship.  It is figuring how to shake things up so that Platform does not become stagnant but flourishes as our audience grows.  What will it look like after the changes?  I don’t know but I hope that the changes - programs/people we cut out, continue to grow with, plan to embrace - will make Platform more relevant and sustainable.

Peace.

Sam Joo 

Executive Director and Founder

1/1/2021