What Come After X? [p.3]

Now that you’re all grown up, what is the biggest difference between the person you are now and the person you thought you would be when you were a teenager?
’m much more confident and outgoing now. I really didn’t think I wasn’t going to be when I was 16. I just don’t remember at 16 thinking I was going to be anything that I’m not. I am more worldly and self-sufficient now. Maybe I didn’t realize I was going to be as independent and as bitchy as I can be at times. At 16, I probably thought I’d be married in my mid-20s. So I guess I am where I thought I’d be, but just a few years later.

What are your life’s goals?
Where do you see yourself at 40?
I want to stop working for others. I’d like to have my own company and work for myself. I hope to stay young and active for my kids. And be an even better wife and mom.

Dat Lien
AGE: 29
PROFESSION: SOFTWARE SALES
COLLEGE: TEXAS A&M

Meet Dat Lien. Dat was also born in Sai Gon, but grew up in East Lansing, Michigan and later moved to the suburbs of Houston for high school. Dat was an overachiever in high school. He was on the tennis team, model United Nations, Jets, Odyssey of the Mind, and Computer Science Club. As a teenager, he led an active scholastic and social life and dated within and outside his race. He went to college at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas where he studied architecture. He’s currently a CAD software expert. Dat now resides in a house 25 miles outside of downtown Houston with his wife of three years and two young children.

How has computer technology affected your life?
The Internet has definitely made it much easier to get and send information. We pay bills, make purchases, listen to music and work by using the Internet. It’s making life go by much faster. We are more informed, more efficient, but have less time to do physical activities.

Is there a difference in the way you and your parents live?

Yes. They live in the service industry (consider it blue collar) where they have to do physical labor whereas I live in the corporate industry, constantly traveling, meeting and on the phone with clients dealing with problems on a regular basis, which earns more money but is also more stressful.

Do you have any regrets in your life?
It’s definitely been an interesting ride and if I had to do it all over again, I would probably make the same or similar decisions. I was lucky enough to have people around me that were very supportive and were willing to support me in my choices

What’s the one thing you wished you did before you became an adult?
That’s a tough one. I’m one of those people who wants to do everything. But the one thing I have not been able to do is fly a jet airplane. Ever since the movie Top Gun, I had always wanted to be a pilot but gave up on the idea after finding out that you have to have close to perfect vision to fly. So I did the next best thing, fly on my computer with simulations...I would have made one hell of a pilot!

Now that you’re all grown up, what is the biggest difference between the person you are now and the person you thought you would be when you were a teenager?
We definitely have a warped sense of reality at 16. I felt as if I were invincible...and gullible. Now, with much more experience, I’m less afraid to go out and do things, especially when it comes to interacting with other people. Also, with reality setting in and ever since I had kids, I have had to worry more about my well-being and health.

What movies, books or music had a pivotal effect on you?
Top Gun was big. The excitement of traveling at high speeds unbound by wires and the freedom to go wherever you want to go made this movie such a huge influence on me. My history of speeding tickets could also be attributed to this movie. Forrest Gump put a spin on American history. I used to not be a huge fan of history but this movie made it fun. At the time, I was finishing up high school and dating a girl named Jenny (similar to the character “Jenny” in the movie). Till this day I still repeat the line: “Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” And of course, The Matrix. Being a computer geek, this movie really appealed to me. I remember leaving the theatre wondering whether or not the life I’m living is real. Our minds are extremely powerful and the limitations we think exist, may not exist at all but are imposed by our upbringing our culture and ourselves. Bottom line: you can do anything that you put your mind to. Or as the movie put it, “There is no spoon.”

What historical event had an impact on your life?
The Challenger explosion comes to mind. I remember only being in elementary at the time but it was the first time that the idea of death really hit home. I was saddened by the fact that these accidents happen but later realized it’s a risk that we all take when we chase our dreams. Also Hurricanes Alicia and Allison really put on a scare and I realized that human life is fragile and that we are at the mercy of Mother Nature. Recently though... the increasing amount of hurricanes and tsunamis has led me to wonder if it’s the environment that is causing this and do we have an effect on all this? It’s made me more sensitive to things that I’m doing to the environment and I’m trying to do things like recycling, car pooling, looking into hybrid cars to lessen the impact on the environment.

Where do you see yourself at age 40?
I hope to one day run the company I am working for or start my own company doing consulting work in the technology sector. In another 10 years I hope to gain enough knowledge and business sense to run a multi-million dollar company or figure out a “need” that has been untapped. This way, I can take care of parents, in-laws and other family members. I would like to make enough money so I can have more time to spend with my family and friends and to enjoy the outdoors.