Weng 7

May 3, 2019

Wendy Weng
1237 HSSB
UC Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106

Dear Wendy:

You need to make some changes in your life in order to have a future that you have always
longed for. Although you have already experienced so many changes, for example, transferring
three times in your past since elementary school, this time, these changes are going to be
different.

A positive mindset is crucial for college freshmen like you, especially during tough times. It is
important to believe in yourself because if you already doubt yourself of not being able to
achieve your goal, then you certainly won’t be able to get it done. Don’t ever think that “I won’t
be able to get into my desired major.” You should say, “I can do this because it is a step closer to
my dream.” You need to adjust your mindset to a better state where you should have enough
confidence in yourself and in the things you are doing, and furthermore, you need to try and
interact with other people more.

With this in mind, the first step toward a better mindset is to face your challenges in school.
Remember what you have always wanted to be as an adult? Your goal is to be an investment
banker when you have graduated from grad school with your master’s degree. Didn’t it seem like
an easy task to you when you came up with the dream? You are probably disappointed now since
you are struggling with your pre-major courses that you are taking in order to get into economics
major in your college. However, please don’t give up on your dream because I know your dream
will come true if you work harder than what you are doing as of now. Your dream will teach you
the same lesson that science did to Lab Girl’s author Jahren. She claims that “Science has taught
me that everything is more complicated than we first assume, and that being able to derive
happiness from discovery is a recipe for a beautiful life” (29). Finding happiness from learning
new things is the reason of persisting a goal. Things could be difficult at first, but after going
through the process of learning new things, one would be satisfied with the current situation.
Indeed, your dream to be an investment banker seemed simple to you when you were twelve
years old because you had no idea what it takes to be one. Then if you think about it, “How do
Wall Street bankers make so much money?” It probably requires a lot of hard work and late
nights in the office. However, these difficult works are going to pay off at the end when these
bankers are enjoying their lives on luxurious vacations. The point is to overcome your obstacles
that you are encountering, and then later when you are having a good life, you will appreciate
yourself for not giving up in college.

As you already know, investment bankers usually have to work between 70-100 hours per week
depending if they are busy or not. For that many hours of work, a healthy mindset plays an even
more essential role, since it is possible that you will get sick from too much pressure. One more
thing you can do to achieve your goal is to get an internship at a bank over the summer to see
 Weng 8

what it is like to work under different circumstances. However, you will need someone that can
help you to find an internship just like how Jahren’s classmate recommended her for a job in the
university hospital (32). Your father is a good source you can use since he works with bankers all
the time. With his help, it is more likely you will find a bank that will take you as an intern. It is
certain that the bankers that you will get to meet and know through your internship would have
incredibly tough mindsets and so much field experience because they must have gone through a
lot. It will be a great opportunity for you to learn from them. They will guide you through
difficult times, and you can also ask them how to deal with stress if you happen to have trouble
with it. After your time at the bank, your mindset would experience stages of change, and it will
become stronger and more tolerant after the internship because you will know how to deal with
unexpected situations. You will also be able to learn a lot more about the banking field through
your internship.

Additionally, you should improve one of your academic skills, which is communicating with
other people, especially your classmates. I know you are not so much of an extrovert but
interacting with people is also a very important step towards success. You have friends that are
very outgoing, maybe you should ask them for a little advice. You can imagine yourself as a
plant and your friends as the water, and even with just a little water, a plant will thrive regardless
(31). A little help can be good because perhaps your friends can help you get out of your
comfort zone. You might feel uncomfortable at first, but with your friends, you might not feel
nervous since they are by your side. After you got out of your comfort zone, you will feel
positive about yourself because you have just achieved something that you would have never
thought you would have done before. I would think you speak fluent English because you have
been speaking it since you were eleven years old, but sometimes when you get nervous, you lack
confidence and start stuttering. An efficient way to start with is to try to talk to people in your
classes and sections that you don’t know really well more and get to know them. Communication
is also something that you would have be skilled at in order to be an investment banker because
bankers would have to have comfortable and convincing conversations with their clients for
them to trust you. To achieve this goal, you should start with by talking to the people you see in
your residence hall’s lounge. It is certain that they will be pleased to have a conversation with
you, so don’t be afraid to start a talk with them.

Finally, if you follow the suggestions mentioned in this letter, you will be a step closer to your
dream. It will be challenging at first because not everything is going to be easy as you grow
older. There are a lot more obstacles for you to encounter in the future, and when the time
comes, you will have the proper mindset to face the challenges which will be strengthened
through your banking internship. Also, hopefully you will be interacting with other people more
and eventually become more outgoing, which will be really helpful for you when you start
working in the banking field.

Sincerely,
Wendy

1237 HSSB
UC Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106