⚡️Last Week Today with Cherie
March 26
Welcome to my Substack where I share a weekly recap all about my life. Think of this as a virtual catch-up session between friends. So grab a cup of tea 🍵 (or your beverage of choice) and let's get started ☕️
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Highlight of the week
Hellooo from Lisbon 👋🏻🥰 I’m on Spring Break with a dozen of my business school friends and it’s my first time visiting Portugal. Trips are a *huge* part of the business school experience (more on this below). Some highlights of the last few days have been:
Visiting the city of Sintra (~40 minutes North of Lisbon) and seeing the historic town, castles, and gardens. I enjoy holidays that have a mix of learning, culture, nature, and relax time. I can’t do just a city for 2 weeks or just lie on the beach for 2 weeks. I mean, I can, but I don’t enjoy it as much. It’s about balance🧘🏻♀️ Next up: vineyards, nature, and relaxing time.
Tasting traditional, local Portuguese egg custards aka Pastéis de Nata. I’m a traveler who follows her stomach — I love eating my way through vacations. I’m Chinese-American and I grew up eating the Hong Kong version of these egg custards (called dan tat in Cantonese). Even though they look similar, the subtle differences between Portuguese and Hong Kong-style egg tarts stand out to me. They’re both delicious, but HK-style is better 🥰
💅🏻 ICYMI: What I posted on IG Reels This Week
💔 What does dating during business school like like?
😇 Top 3 industries that get MBA degrees
Traveling means less time for video editing 👀 How do I make content creation more sustainable especially during busy times like this?
Advice from me. Hi!! 👋🏻
This is your gentle reminder to always throw your hat in the ring. Even when you don’t think you’re completely qualified, submit that application or raise your hand for the opportunity. If you apply, you may get chosen. If you don’t apply, you 100% for sure won’t get chosen.
“…the barrier to applying was not lack of confidence. In fact, for both men and women, “I didn’t think I could do the job well” was the least common of all the responses… What held them back from applying was not a mistaken perception about themselves, but a mistaken perception about the hiring process.” (source: Harvard Business Review)Closed mouths don’t get fed. Apply to that job, apply to that scholarship, apply to that internship, apply to that school. If you self-select yourself out, you will never know. You got this 👊🏻💥
What I’m consuming
I have so many shows in the backlog that I haven’t caught up on yet — YES, I feel behind on pop culture. I love TV and now I mostly watch when I have time between school quarters. Next on my list: The Last of Us, Succession, White Lotus Season 2, and Physical 100. You know exactly where I started…PHYSICAL 100. Need I explain more?
A bit of a tangent, but I swear this is related. Currently there’s ~20 Stanford Business School classmates visiting South Korea on a Global Study Trip (GST). Some context: the GSB has a global requirement that students must fulfill before graduation. One way to fulfill this requirement is by going on a GST that focuses on a business topic (smart cities, climate change, soft power, etc) with classmates and a professor. There were a few GSTs this year to amazing locations like Kenya, South Korea, Vietnam, UAE, New Zealand, and Australia. Sounds INCREDIBLE right??? Yeah, I know! I signed up to attend (prioritized Kenya and South Korea). And, I didn’t get one 🙃
In fact, many of my friends didn’t have the chance to go on a GST because of the lottery system at Stanford University. GSTs sound incredible because students explore a city/country from a business context — GSB students often meet prime ministers, presidents, startups, and local entrepreneurs to hear first hand how the international perspective, culture, and customs influence business. This is one of the reasons why I came to get my MBA. But alas, no GST for me… which is why we planned this Portugal trip!
I would’ve loved to go on the South Korea GST because the trip focuses on business and soft power: how South Korea has become a world power and influenced the west through media over the last 10 years. Cultural phenomenons that were once cast aside are now taking over the world and shining a light on Asian voices: Physical 100, Squid Games, Black Pink, BTS, Parasite, and much more. Even though I didn’t get a chance to go on the South Korea GST, I’m planning to find a way to intern in Asia over the summer…more to come here!
What I’m perplexed by
How I love feeling strong, not skinny. It’s been a huge mindset shift over the last 3 years for me: I no longer weigh myself daily and panic over weight fluctuations. I weigh myself once a month (if that) because I know for me, following those numbers can become obsessive. I’ve developed a healthier relationship with food and exercise — it’s a work in progress. I’ve tried half marathons (I’m done with those lol), ice baths, freezing myself in -171 degrees, red light therapy, and more. Regarding routine, right now I’m keeping it simple with 12-3-30 on the treadmill and lifting weights to increase bone density, posture, and the juicy glute pump.
As promised from my IG, here’s a playlist for when you’re lifting. Be safe/careful with your form! And get that nasty glute pump in, you sexy b*tch.
Meme Reminder
Lucky you. You get two this week 😈 Btw who else is stuck on capybaraTok? I’m not complaining, but just confused about how I got here??
HAVE AN AMAZING UPCOMING WEEK, LOVES!!!!!!
XO Cherie
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A lovely read as usual! Surprised there wasn’t much about AI