My name is Julie Sun Hee Eshelman. I am 33 years old, single (but never alone), and my name has a story. Some people’s stories start with the hospital they were born at or the times they were born. Mine has always begun with an explanation. A validation of who I am. It has become my way of teaching people to think outside the box when it comes to ‘family’. It’s become part of my identity… or my monologue (if you will), because I’ve been asked to explain my story more times than I’ve been asked if I want milk or cream in my coffee (I prefer cream).
Julie Sun Hee Eshelman, Conference Marketing and Communications co-chair
I was born as Yoon Sun Hee in Kang Won Do, South Korea and was given up for adoption in 1979. While most babies at this age are learning to walk, talk and bond with the families that brought them into this world, I was learning to walk, talk and bond as Julie Sun Hee Eshelman with the family that had adopted me here in good old Massachusetts. I am not Jewish (although the Hillel House at Umass Amherst would probably disagree).
In life, there are the journeys that present themselves to us, and then there are the journeys that we choose. The journeys that present themselves to us make us stronger, build character and help shape who we’ve become today. However, I strongly believe it’s the journeys that we choose that show us just how strong we’ve become, allowing us to reveal our characters, and more importantly overcome our biggest obstacles… ourselves. I’ve been told that as a baby in the orphanage, I was very quiet and withdrawn and didn’t take easily to strangers. My friends and family that know me well would probably never use these words to describe me now, however, these personality traits have been a shadow throughout my life, and become a source of frustration for me in situations when I can become painfully shy. The realization that I can still sometimes feel like that little girl in the orphanage even at the ripe age of 33, is what finally led me to the decision to do something this year that would challenge me to change.
I will admit that I initially joined the Marketing & Communications team for ASPIRE’s 2011 Asian American Women in Leadership Conference in order to check volunteer work off of my ‘to do’ list for 2011. I had no expectations of what I would gain from this journey. My only knowledge of this Boston-based non-profit organization was that I would be investing some of my time and energy into planning their annual conference dedicated to developing career and leadership skills for Asian American girls and women.
What I have learned from this experience is that in order to further promote the inspiring message of this organization, I would need to develop and fine tune my own leadership skills, so I could begin practicing what we were intending to teach. I began to think outside the box in terms of my own self-image and stopped hesitating so much before letting my voice out. It’s given me a sense of pride that I remember feeling as a child; like the rush you get after getting your driver’s license and driving alone for the first time in the car. I realized that ‘rush’ had been a missing piece in my life as I grew older.
What started out as a chance to promote ASPIRE’s upcoming conference this November, has ended up becoming an incredible support system on my own personal journey. I’m proud to say it has given me the opportunity to meet a great group of women that I can add to my corner of family and friends. Hope we can help you with your journey. Make time to reinvent yourself.
For more information about the 2011 Asian American Women in Leadership Conference click here: http://girlsaspire.org/2011conference/
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