That Amazing Moment When Eva Chen Responds To You…

…be right back, about to faint from happiness.

Hi Eva! I’m a recent journalism grad and I’m interning at Weddingbells Magazine in Toronto. I LOVE it so far! My only concern is that I’m 22 and I feel like a lot of my friends are travelling and having the time of their lives. I told myself if I want to travel and take a year off, I’d go to Korea and teach English (everything is paid for and you can save A LOT), but now I’m conflicted because I love what I do now, but I do want to travel. I feel like if I travel I’ll be behind in my career..

evachen212 said:

oh! this is a very timely—and appropriate—question to ask me, since I just relocated to Los Angeles for a few months. okay, my perspective: first of all, it’s marvelous that you’ve found a potential career that you love and that you have a passion for. that, in of itself, is exceptionally difficult and some people spend their whole lives trying to pinpoint that. so I see why you’re conflicted about taking a break from it—and thus falling behind in your career. to be honest, though, there is no such thing as falling behind in your career especially this early in your path. first of all, you’re interning—not hired—at Weddingbells. I’m not saying that that’s license to take it any less seriously (the fact that you’re worried about leaving them is a sign to me, actually, about how much you love your job and how great of an intern you likely are). how long is the term of your internship though? why not intern there for a little while longer while you a) save money to b) travel for a few months? I am very pro-travel, pro-life-experience. once you start working-working (not just interning), it’s exceptionally difficult to take a year—or even a few months—off. but you never know where a life adventure in Seoul might take you—you could intern at Vogue Girl (I LOVE that magazine) while out there, or start your own travel blog or ‘zine. and that could lead to another job/internship/something amazing. when you open your heart and mind to life and opportunities, opportunities will, in turn, find you.