I teared up rewatching It’s a Wonderful Life over the holidays. Is the same message not still true, almost 80 years later? The people in life are what’s most important. We are social creatures, creatures of love. Our tribe is the main ingredient to the recipe for a wonderful life.

I gave myself some grace and took some time away from TAV in order to fully enjoy the holidays with my tribe. But back in it, I remember it feels good to write and publish something to the world. James Clear’s most recent newsletter serendipitously reinforced this when he ventured, “The quality of my life is significantly higher on days that I publish an article. The creative process and well-being go hand-in-hand."

Wonderful Cape Town, taken atop Lion’s Head in 2011

It feels like I’m contributing. That’s what this is all about. Contributing to the universe. Putting what’s in my mind on the internet, putting my ideas into the world. Because I have something to share. I have traveled a lot, I’ve lived on 3 different continents, and I have a good perspective that’s worthy of sharing with others. That’s what TAV sells—my vision for a better world. Thinking about this, I realized my journey is encapsulated by my three tattoos.

I experienced the vision for TAV in 2011 when I moved to Cape Town, the first time I lived in Africa. Living on my own there, far away from any other members of my tribe, forced me to develop true independence. And because it was a completely foreign place, it opened up my mind and my world in a different way than just traveling. Traveling is wonderful; it provides a peek into other worlds. But to truly experience another culture, to understand it fully, you have to be immersed in it until it becomes mundane. Until you dread repeated chores in your living situation. Until you have a set of friends that no one back home knows except for you. Until your sense of “home” itself changes.

I received this education in South Africa when I was 23 years old. It was when I became a man. I commemorated this awakening with my first tattoo, a simple outline of the African continent with an eye looking East. Because from Cape Town I went to the heart of the East, the capital of China, Beijing. Completely different environment, that would again become my home. Somewhere that would teach me what it meant to be an adult in this crazy world, somewhere that would further elucidate the diversity of our species.

The street outside my Hutong in Beijing, January 2014

China also reinforced the importance of family, and I learned a lesson when I decided to stay for more than three years. I don’t regret this choice, because I think my life in Beijing provided a unique education that was irreplaceable and greatly contributed to who I am today. But I would not make the same choice again if I relived that period of my life. I would have left China a few times to at least visit my tribe. Still, that decision proved the importance of family to me. So I got my second tattoo, the Chinese character for “family” or “home,” read as “jiā.” It marks my understanding of the true meaning of family.

Shortly after, I returned back to California, and I had to find my way again. I spent a third of my twenties outside the United States, had given up any sort of head start into a typical career, and needed to figure out what I was going to do here. Would I live in the US for the rest of my life? Would I continue in teaching or at least education? I split the difference and began a career in Education Technology, which I’m still in today.

But I also had to recover from the pain of unrequited love. I was lost in many ways, despite returning home. And then, after 2 years, I met the love of my life, and everything started to feel right. I moved out of sales and into product, which suits me better. We traveled around the whole world, visiting all 7 continents, with another extended stay in Africa, this time Tanzania. We have lived and loved and grown. We got married, having 2 beautiful weddings (a Covid blessing), we bought a home, and now we are starting a family. It is at this juncture I’ve obtained my most recent tattoo: an amaryllis flower on my forearm, an artistic token of my love, one that is always visible and can never be taken off. I feel whole and complete at this stage of my life, in that I’m with who I am supposed to be, and pursuing what I am meant to be doing: TAV, and contributing to the world.

My most recent tattoo when it was fresh 2 weeks ago

I think about all this as I contemplate possible resolutions. I’ve written before that I prefer to reflect on my development as a human during my personal “new year,” my birthday. But so much of our lives is determined by the school and calendar year. We’ve survived the darkest part of winter with the passing of the Winter Solstice, celebrated the most important cultural holiday with our tribes, and now have reached the ‘end’ of the year. The dates will soon slip to 2025. How will we be better? For that is the powerful way to frame resolutions—to think not about how much weight we might lose this upcoming year, or how we’ll resolve our personal problems. But how will we make the world better? How will we be better to each other? How will we contribute to the universe?

I pledge to put more into TAV in 2025 than I ever have before. I aim to raise $5,000 for charity through TAV. I will pour my heart and soul into this venture because it is the best way that I can contribute, the best way to enliven my vision. It is how I can build upon my unique journey, represented through my three tattoos, and how I can convince everyone we couldn’t ask for more from this big beautiful amazing world.