Hi everyone!
I’m Lindsay, but friends and family call me Lu (so you can call me Lu if you feel comfortable doing so). I was born and raised in Palo Alto, California, and I’m immensely grateful to be here at Duke experiencing a different environment and finding a home here away from home.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a tough time writing about myself. What do I say? How do I describe myself? Who am I? For a long time, it was a daunting task; there were no simple labels I could attach to myself to express who I was, and I was hard on myself for not having a passion that would provide some sort of foundation for my identity and some sense of direction in my life.
After many years, I’ve come to not only accept my lack of a defining “passion,” but embrace it. I am not confined to any one hobby or any one area of study; I am not confined to one set of beliefs, or any one image of who I am. I don’t have any expectations to live up to other than always trying to be the best version of me, whoever that is and whatever that means at a given time in my life. My identity is fluid, and I am always changing and reshaping my trajectory all the time. It’s a privilege to be able to wander how I wander and know that my friends and family will support me and find me if I get lost.
I have a long list of goals, and sure—maybe having my attention constantly shifting from one to another has hindered my progress in achieving any one of them—but what a blessing it is to have too many things I want to do, too many places I want to go, and too many ideas I want to explore in this world. Some day I hope to find something I can focus on, but right now I’m enjoying this journey of learning.
With that being said, here’s who I think I am right now:
compassionate
always looking to connect with others
curious
eager to somehow create positive change in the world
fascinated by languages; learning Japanese in class, and Spanish and Italian independently
deeply thankful for my life and the people in it, and our good health
a traveler
a video editor
interested in cosmology, biology, linguistics, chemistry, and neuroscience, among other subjects…
on the Duke Figure Skating team
interested in deepening my understanding of systems of privilege and how I can use mine to level the playing field
an advocate for self-care and mental health
reflective
I know that I wouldn’t be here if not for all of the people who have touched my life. Being at Duke is an enormous blessing. The number of opportunities presented to us here is astounding; it’s the perfect place to continue to explore where I want to go and what I want to do with my life. I’m excited and humbled to be a part of the Baldwin community, and I hope that the support of the women in it will help me choose the best path to fulfill my goal of being a force for positive change.