My First Time In Asia | 7 Countries & Redefined Philosophy
Setting a New Tone for Ambition.
Months ago I came to Singapore, my first ever stop in Asia. I didn’t realise that this brand-new place would help me remember so much of what I’ve forgotten [from my ambitious upbringing].
Singapore redrafted my ambition. I forgot how much I love the hustle and value-creation. I want to be in the happening spots of the world, where resources flow through and can be leveraged to make big things happen in the world.
I aspire to earn my right to live here.
😊 This newsletter is a thank you note to life. I hope it’s enjoyable to read. There’s a little treasure hunt within the letter for a few of my recent fav pieces of media. 🌏
This round in Asia I travelled to 7 countries. It was incredibly cool to a) self-fund this and b) follow my pure curiosity.
I really learned that adventure and empathy fills my cup. Yes, the history and nature were phenomenal, but PEOPLE get me most excited.
People are the greatest asset. You’re only a few degrees away from anyone. The right connections can change the way you live. They’ll shape your life forever.
It may not be the most optimal experience for my CV, but I wouldn't switch out the maturity, perspectives or reflection for any line in a resume! I feel much more equipped to pursue hustle and happiness in the world.
In honour, here are some incredible spots (+ anecdotes) that will forever have a spot in my heart!
Marina Bay Sands, Singapore: luxury is in the details.
Tanjong Pagar, Singapore: I want nothing but the thrill of ambition.
Ubud, Indonesia: the most feminine and empowering spot. I learned to speak my mind.
Johor, Malaysia: there’s beauty to be found everywhere.
Kuala Lampur, Malaysia: I am truly a lover of fun facts and historical context.
Hanoi, Vietnam: make friends with the bar tenders.
Sapa, Vietnam: great adventures (Fansipan) take time.
Yen Bai, Vietnam: skip Ha Long Bay to live in a rice village. Give faith to the underestimated.
Taipei, Taiwan: return to inquiry — are insecurities or fear blocking your rationale? Build a McKinsey style power point explaining your logical reasoning if unsure.
Bangkok, Thailand: know what you want otherwise you’ll get lost in the vastness (of a 15M+ person megacity).
Siem Reap, Cambodia: I will never be left with nothing because I’ll always be able to have the joy of mornings and respect for others.
Asia, Beyond and Back
📍SE Asia | Intention: have a mind filled with wonder.
With 3 weeks left in Asia, I feel so sentimental about this chapter. To end off with a bang, I’m speaking at the Alternative Protein Show in Singapore with Kind Earth Tech, wrapping up my internship at Salween Group, and backpacking Thailand with my friend Becca Stern.
I finished my exams at NUS last week. I think I did exchange in the most unconventional way possible — with my feet never hitting the ground — where I just focused on being a sponge for Singapore. Now this country feels like home.
📍Ontario | Intention: create.
10 days at home will go by so quickly, I’m sure! I’ll be staying in my new house (yaaaaay!) and making a video about my journey to homeownership before 20!
I also plan to soak up great reads under the perfect sunsets of Saugeen shores!
Then it’s packing up again…
📍Lisbon & London | Intention: say the brightest hellos.
I’ll be in Lisbon June 7-15 and London June 16-21. It will be my first time in the UK so please do share any recommendations.
✌️This trip is also a litmus test for my future lifestyle. I’ll be doing remote work for my project (explained next) but I am curious if established European giants (London) or emerging tech hubs (Lisbon) match more of my enthusiasm!
Always experimenting 🤓
📍East Africa | Intention: be presently helpful.
Most of my summer is dedicated to working with Madiro on their Ubuntu Village of Life project in Mugamba Commune, Burundi. It’s an ambitious hospital hub-and-spoke mission that could transform healthcare in low resource communities.
I’m really keen to learn more from the Aga Khan Kampala Teaching Hospital project, as it’s a really great case study for us. If there’s anyone who could support me in finding contacts, that would be absolutely wonderful.
I am also overjoyed to be meeting with Jesse Moore of mKOPA in Nairobi and Alice Blazevic of KATs in Kampala.
📍Dubai | Intention: resourcefulness.
I’ll have one spare night in Dubai (aug 1) and I’d love to fill it with something interesting! Any ideas?
📍Balkans | Intention: memories for a lifetime, documented.
To end off my summer, I’ll be doing a road trip across Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia with my family. I’ll be seeing my grandma for the first time in 6 years and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity.
Being an immigrant family to Canada is such a blessing, but I’m excited to be back in Eastern Europe!
Right after this trip I’ll be turning 20… entering a new decade!!! So grateful that some of my last formative memories in my teens will be in a place I’ve dearly missed…
📍North Carolina | Intention: don’t follow the rules.
With 4 more semesters in my uni program, I’ll be back in NC in the fall. However, I’ll be coming with a much more expansive and aggressive mindset. I want to make things happen. Not just sit back and complete the curriculum. Really hoping to shake things up and squeeze some opportunity out of my last two years…
I’m also thinking about how to enrich my education. Here’s what I’d like to do:
Spend the next two winter breaks (5 weeks) living in a developing country, supporting an interesting project.
Attend Web Summit or SXSW or other great events that marry tech and impact.
Being a doula for the UNC hospital system so I can support pregnancies and births!! (I am doula trained).
Get to know 50% of the lab PIs at my school (the network, not the diploma, will be the most important asset).
Host meaningful dinners fertile for radical conversation… (as nerdy as possible to cultivate).
Connect with interesting people within a direct flight radius. Never succumb to the institutional walls.
At least that’s how I’m thinking about it…
Really, I’m trying to build perspective, network and skills so I can go out and make stuff happen in the world.
📍Back to Asia | Aspirations
I certainly see myself spending at least 1-2 years in my twenties in Asia. Maybe Singapore, maybe elsewhere (Bangkok, Hanoi, Bali, Ho Chi Minh…)
I have my direction vector pointing away from the US/Canada and towards the east world.
It’s nice to have a seed planted…
Irreversible Experiences
I got to see my friend Mishaal in Taiwan and in Singapore and we came up with a great set of mental models and definitions including irreversible experiences.
The exposure I’ve gained from this side of adulthood has truly been irreversible. I don’t think I’ll be able to think smaller if I tried.
The energy, hustle and pragmatism is a way of life that’s built a new bottom line.
🤙 One of the best amplifiers of this season of life has been catching up to old TKS friends. Big thanks to Tanisha and Mishaal for the IRL adventures and Liam, Adam, Alishba, Shaun and Ayaan for some super memorable conversations. You’ve helped me remember the values of innovation and unconventional thinking we learned through our little 110 Charles St bubble. These friendships have reminded me not to settle.
When you experience the authentic joys in life, it makes it impossible to be satisfied moving backward.
🫶 Dreaming in Coulds
What inspires you when you remove everyone else’s vested interests?
What do you hear when you silence out what’s popular?
These questions are part of my unlearning of the narrative I internalized as the weird kid in school — “you don’t fit in.” Implicitly and explicitly people reinforced this idea. What came next was what I “should” do [to not deviate].
Should poisons our minds to disconnect with what we could do. It collapses all our opportunities into a linear path we ought to go down. Eventually, should stops us from being curious; we become obedient to the standards of our environment.
Should, of course, can be a really powerful concept too. It can keep kids in school, away from drugs, and disciplined. But it can also keep abuse victims quiet, sad people smiling, and successful folks purposeless.
But it’s easy to follow should. It’s the trusted path, the fit-in path, the be-cool path.
It’s more powerful to pay attention to the coulds than the shoulds.
Our brains love paths of least resistance and “should” offers that. “Could” on the other hand is messy and opportunistic. It’s ambiguous — a variable our mind will fight like a pathogen.
To calibrate the balance between what you ‘should’ do and what you ‘could’ do focus on could. Your monkey mind will naturally lean towards authority, definition and fitting in. Be intentional about deviating.
So, who’s saying should?
The lectures of not fitting in and what I should be doing throughout my life set me up with a cocktail of insecurities.
When I got to uni, I felt swallowed by them.
Because uni was an environment for pursuing “shoulds.” You should do pre-med. You should have a 4.0, a boyfriend, a tight squad, an IB internship, an engineering, science and Law degree.
Instead of pursuing all the things I COULD do with my uni resources, I fell into the trap of SHOULD. It’s what everyone does. That’s how you stay relatable and how you find belonging.
I forgot about myself as the little weird girl with big big dreams of what the world could become.
Now, I’d like to be more intentional about honouring my past dreams and all the things I thought I could do with my life. It’s too common that we squash everything in pursuit of the things great authority deems we should do.
I’m reseting the tone, motivated by the great people and experiences on this side of the globe!
All the love from this latest adventure! Keep dreaming; there’s so much you could do,
Isabella Grandic
Isabella Keep Going! The whole world awaits you!
Nothing re-ignites ambition like looking over a large city. It makes you want to conquer!
Love the pictures too, shoutout to whoever was photographing – the red and green contrast is beautiful in the last one