My thoughts on turning 23 : The people you surround yourself with determine your success

Birthday presents for my friends on my birthday

I'm 23 now... 

I see my birthday as more a count  down to zero rather than a count upwards. We have a finite amount of time and will never know when its up. My birthday is a time to review the year and what I want the following year to be like.

Usually I don't celebrate with a big party and haven't for the last few years.

This year I decided that I should. I did it because I know a lot of the fantastic success I'm having right now was never accomplished on my own, it was always with a team and support of my friends. People right now might see me as being a capable and talented individual but its mostly not true.

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Successfully starting a chapter of global youth leadership organization at my university when all other teams had failed? It wasn't me, it was the talent and hard work of our team who became a second family.

Winning three international IT competitions against universities around the world ? It wasn't me, it was the combination of three of us that made us unstoppable.

Starting and completing a Marketing contract as a consultant targeted at youth? It wasn't me, but the collaborative effort of students from three different universities.

Helping connect and create an empowered nonprofit community through supporting them with technology ? I'm building on the work and efforts of those who have started before me.

Creating, inspiring and running entrepreneurial workshops for over 400 people, both adults and high school students ? It would have been impossible for me to do all the work needed, by myself I would not have been able to accomplish one tenth of the impact we achieved working collaboratively together.

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Being 22 has been phenomenal. Full of crazy new experiences, as well as making great new friends and rekindling relationships with old friends.

When you put more people into your life it means more of everything, both the good and bad. For those of you who have been a part of my life, you are the ones who give more good than bad. As thanks for that, I've decided to give all of you silly gifts and I hope you enjoyed it.

Photo Credits: Christophe Revelly

"A friendship can weather most things and thrive in thin soil; but it needs a little mulch of letters and phone calls and small, silly presents every so often - just to save it from drying out completely.

Pam Brown "
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By Stevie Vu

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