Conversation with NYC Google UX Designer Leecy Li ( Part Two)

Life Designer with Jingyu Chen

In Part two, Leecy shared her experience in hosting 'Talks at Google' with Yiying lu. She took the plunge, putting herself out there as a representative of our unique culture, with the mission to bridging gaps for deeper human connection. I strongly resonate with what she said: Hate comes from ignorance and fear of being unknown. When we are genuinely and openly sharing our stories with others, the possibility of building understanding and connection that transcends differences of culture, race, language, etc., appears on the surface.
We further addressed that being a global citizen enables us to hold our roots more deeply instead of ditching our identity. Acknowledging who we are/ where we are from protects our uniqueness and affords us a sense of belonging. Leecy and I have a similar background of growing up in China, proudly carrying our upbringing made who we are, also have the privilege in embracing diversity living in a foreign country. We are glad to introduce our culture into the world as well as opening to different cultures without judgment or comparison. We also consolidate our sense of identity by, as leecy said, upholding our opinions and being critical thinkers. Leecy also pointed out that learning a new language contributes to fostering critical thinking. Leecy and I advocate for language learning (She is learning French and I speak Japanese). We both agree that language serves as a communication tool, leading us to connect its cultural/value system associated with this language on a deeper level. Also, tracing back to the original language helps us not to lost in translation.
Leecy also shared her insights on decluttering and minimalism versus consumerism. She believes each object serves meaning and purpose. If left unused or unattended at the corner of our place, it flags to us that this object fails to serve its purposes or meaning on our hands (the object's functional use or brings our inner joy, etc). We may want to declutter them by giving away or donating. It leads to Leecy's next great point of making an intentional purchase. Leecy suggests that we should evaluate those parameters built into our purchase system, which should not be based on promotion or impulses but based on how often we use and how much we like. Decluttering comes with time and emotional cost, which could be mitigated by making each purchase as meaningful as possible. Another great tip is to buy more consumable products while buying less clothes. I am so on board with buying more consumable products. I will purchase or even hoard products I will commit to finishing up (skincare, candles, bath salts, etc.,). Leecy particularly addressed renting service as an alternative to owning the piece when it comes to fashion shopping. When we gradually establish our style in fashion, we may make more secure and precise purchases. But the downside is it limits us to specific styling. Renting services allows for room to experiment our potential looks, which is a nice way of discovering something new in ourselves!
We further expanded our topic to 'luxury products'. We both truly appreciate its aesthetic beauty and craftsmanship spirit, but we don't believe luxury feeling comes from luxury products nor fulfill ourselves through luxury brands. Our value system prevails over the consumerism traps. Leecy added that she came a long way to reach this point of purchasing by heart, not by price. The purchasing system / value system she is holding now is a result of years of hard-working and growing consciousness. I am so related to that as I've also reached the stage of making conscious purchase with my value system underpinned. I believe this is a part of being conscious about managing my finance, which is another essential level of taking control of our life.
Website: leecy.li

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