42/365

Name: Vincent
Three words to describe yourself: I don't know
Vincent was born in Atlanta, Ga and his dad is from Beijing and his mom is from Pulli, Taiwan. He said that 30-40 years ago there was a massive "brain drain" in which Asians were easily able to emigrate to the U.S. to pursue higher education. His dad studied physics, while his mom studied accounting. I asked Vincent what he would like to do in his lifetime and he immediately replied, "Superhero pirate . . . WHY DOES THAT NOT EXIST YET?" On a more serious note, he likes the idea of getting a PhD in philosophy in order to teach because he "[wants] to change the way we think about everything". He said that he does not commit to any specific philosophy but he likes the ideas of Nietzsche and Deleuze who are both interested in the "re-conceptualization of morality" and "overcoming thought". Vincent does have a personal philosophy: "Never be the same" and also says, "I have a cute smile". I ask Vincent about a travel experience he had, and he tells me a story about staying in a hostel in Hungary. He and a few friends went to a club, had a few drinks, then went back to the hostel. One of his friends asked the hostel manager about swimming in the Danube, but the manager said the river was too cold and dirty, and the current is too strong. Suddenly Vincent's friend goes outside, jumps of the hostel's deck and climbs over a few fences until he reaches the docks on the Danube. Realizing his friend is swimming in the river, Vincent realized he also wanted to jump in the river and knew that if he did not, he would regret it. He decided to jump in and his underwear fell off, so he was swimming in a river that "was so cold and filthy" while trying to put his boxer back on. I ask him if it was worth it and he replies, "Oh hell yeah!" Vincent has done quite a bit of traveling, but would like to go to Morocco, Italy, the Middle East, Croatia and everywhere else in the world--except for the European countries he has already been to.