Today, I invite you to glide with me down a nostalgic track—to the years when I was young, brimming with ambition, and wrestling with uncertainty about the future. The rigor of an MIT curriculum, paired with two part-time jobs, made New York my chosen escape from what felt like an endlessly stressful stretch in Boston.
My favorite New York ritual wasn’t splurging along Saks Fifth Avenue. Instead, I would wait for sunset and slip onto the Q train bound for Brooklyn. I loved watching the cars rise from the underground, snake onto the bridge, and glide toward their destination. Up-close graffiti, the glimmering river, and even laundry swaying from rooftop lines felt unexpectedly cathartic—like the city was breathing, and I was breathing with it.
Each time I stood on that platform, I whispered, I will live here one day. I longed to make it big in the Big Apple—because New York has a way of welcoming anyone who arrives with a suitcase of hopes: for fame, for fortune, for love. In my mind, I could see myself strolling down Sixth Avenue in a Burberry trench, Starbucks tumbler in hand, heading into my office across from the Waldorf Astoria. That was my dream: to be a high-powered professional living the American dream in New York.
But life rarely consults our storyboards. Instead of Fifth Avenue, I now inch down Jalan MH Thamrin, honking and worrying whether I’m driving an odd-numbered plate on an even-numbered day. It might sound like a detour—or a defeat. I choose to see it as a draft in progress. I’m thankful for the dream that once propelled me forward; it taught me to chase a horizon, and it still keeps me searching for a brighter tomorrow.
Dreaming is one of humanity’s greatest gifts. It fuels aspiration, sparks innovation, ushers in change, and carries us when the road turns bleak. Life without dreams is a world without adventure, without meaning. I’m grateful I was encouraged to dream big—and to invite others to do the same.
In a world that seems to shift under our feet, the power of imagination is more vital than ever. Our future depends on those who can envision solutions to problems we barely grasp today. How do we prepare our children for a future we can’t foresee? Learning Chinese might help in a changing geopolitical landscape—but in a world with instant translation, is it essential? Teaching kids to code is valuable, but as artificial intelligence advances, software may soon write software. What we must teach, above all, is the ability to imagine the unthinkable—to dream beyond the horizon.
Too many children miss something crucial beyond love in their earliest years: no one tells them they’re allowed to dream. Without that compass, early hurt hardens into anger, then rage. We see this in Indonesia—in children born to very young, very poor parents. Their days are spent searching for affection or crying from hunger. Survival becomes their only lesson. When they grow up feeling hopeless and unseen, the cycle continues.
No child should grow up feeling abandoned. They need education, safety, and constant encouragement to dream—because for those who dare to dream, a whole world opens.
It is my honor to use the 20th (X)SML Anniversary as a stage to introduce Yayasan Peduli Anak and their work supporting abandoned children in Lombok. We at (X)SML are inspired by their dedication and hope to raise as much awareness as possible through our event on August 31, 2017, at 6:30 p.m., at Plaza Indonesia Function Hall, Level 2.
Always,
Jun
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12-14 December 2025
