I’ve wanted to try blogging for a while, but waffled on it due to “perfectionism paralysis.”

My goal this year is to take a more “imperfectionist” route for the sake of getting things done. One part of this is making day-by-day progress toward my long-term goal of becoming a polyglot. It’s nerve-wracking to fumble through Mandarin conversations with Skype partners while constantly being conscious of a thick American accent. (Isn’t it funny how we’re so much more forgiving of these little details from other people than we are from ourselves?) In the spirit of being less self-critical, I scheduled my first Skype sessions in advance so that it would automatically be on my calendar after work — in only a few short weeks, there’s been an appreciable difference in my Mandarin ability.

I’m also attending my first Ciclovia in New Brunswick today! It took a while to break out of the STEM bubble on Busch Campus, but my Rutgers experience has been richer over the past year. My team of community consultants will be working to help improve future Ciclovia events, and I’m excited to get started with this hybrid-learning opportunity between Rutgers, Johnson & Johnson, and local nonprofit organizations.