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#ItsPersonal III 88. Amélie Wen Zhao shares family history, new reads and secret hobbies!
22 Plays4 years ago
Amélie has always loved to write. Born in Paris and raised in a multicultural community in Beijing, Amélie has multiple identities that have made her who she is today.
On this episode, Amélie talks about living in multiple places and how these communities have impacted her growth as a professional. She also shares what it means to be a financial professional and a writer (She's super busy!) at the same time.
Something I really enjoyed about Amélie's personality is her willingness to grow and continue to push herself in all areas of her life. Not to mention, she also has an amazing TikToc page!
Website: https://ameliezhao.com/about/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ameliewenzhao
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ameliewenzhao/
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Transcript
Introduction and Quarantine Experience
00:00:20
Speaker
Hello, my name is Amelia Wenjia. I am the author of the Blood Air trilogy. It's a YA epic fantasy about a princess who has to fight her way back to the throne and partner with a convent. And I am originally from Beijing, currently living in New York and quarantining in California. So I've been stuck here since last March when we flew for a two week vacation and just stayed here until...
00:00:24
Speaker
Welcome back everyone to another episode of It's Personal.
00:00:47
Speaker
Now. Wow.
Pandemic Impact and Family Safety
00:00:49
Speaker
Wow. And I always ask specifically on this season just to check in. How are you doing? And I say that lightly obviously with all things considering in regards to family. How are you all kind of making out?
00:01:03
Speaker
Yeah, so I think the most interesting conversations I've had is that with a lot of my friends here, the pandemic started kind of last March. But for me, my family's all in Beijing and all my friends. And so that's kind of started in December or January. I was already starting to wear my face masks and being very cautious. And then all my friends here were like, no, it's not going to blow up.
00:01:28
Speaker
And it did. But all things considered, it's been good. We are quarantining with, I'm quarantining with my fiance and his brother and friends. So it's been a good environment, very fortunate to have a stable roof over my head and food and a job. And yeah, it's just waiting out. I got my first job two days ago, so just hoping things will turn for the better.
00:01:57
Speaker
and your family in Beijing are they making out okay? Yeah, actually they've been like China has been back to normal life since around like last summer I would say so they were they would freak out and be like yeah today we had a kind of cluster of 60 cases and I was like we're at like 60k per day in the US over here
00:02:24
Speaker
So they've been signs just still being very cautious and quarantining, but life's pretty much back to normal. Yeah, awesome. That's nice to hear. That's nice to hear.
Multicultural Background and Early Life
00:02:37
Speaker
I'm so interested in your story because you've touched on it a little bit in the beginning, just like all the multiple places that you've lived and being born in Paris.
00:02:46
Speaker
And I didn't even know now you're living in California, like there's so many things I want to dig into. But can you talk about just like growing up with those multiple identities and the different experiences that you've had? And obviously it's a long, this is a long story, but the multiple experiences that you've had in those different places and kind of how they shaped you, I guess, to be the person that you are today. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
00:03:13
Speaker
I think that so to start with being born in Paris, I think I'd start with my parents story, which is that after the Chinese Cultural Revolution, they were the first group of young like scholars who were allowed to go and study overseas.
00:03:30
Speaker
And so they ended up testing out, it was one of the top, there were 10 spots to go to France, I think, and they ended up testing out and going there for grad school. And it was the typical like poor Asian immigrant story, like they slept on cardboard boxes with like cockroaches and everything. And so I was born there. And that's where my name comes from. It's
00:03:54
Speaker
some talk about identities like my whole name is like a little short summary of my identity mainly and then Wen Zhao is Chinese. So I spent my first five years there and I actually started off with speaking Chinese and French and then reading like all my media and books that I read were in those two languages so
00:04:18
Speaker
At the age of six, we went back to China, to Beijing, and it was a pretty drastic shift, like no more cafes and everything in Riverside Promenades, and it was like dustier streets. It was like 2000 Beijing, and it was already starting to see like a lot of development and economic growth, but it was still, like there were no diapers for babies, so it was a huge adjustment. And then I started learning English in elementary school, so
00:04:48
Speaker
I got dropped off at, you might know this, the Yao Zhong International School. It's a Hong Kong, Japanese school. And I didn't know a word of English, so I just sat there and slowly, slowly picked it up.
Career Transition to Writing
00:05:04
Speaker
And so I spent my childhood all up until I was 18 years old in China in an international community. And then I came to the US for college. So I went to UCLA first, and then I decided to transfer to the finance hub, NYU, where I went to their undergrad business school and then graduated and started working in finance. And then somehow it gets crazier, but now I'm writing books.
00:05:37
Speaker
That's so interesting. And my other question was, did you ever think when you were younger, this was the life that you were going to be living? What were your thoughts when you were younger?
00:05:54
Speaker
Yeah, not at all. I always kind of felt a little out of place when I was young because I was the only kid who came back from France, but I'm a Chinese citizen. And so going to international schools, it's
00:06:11
Speaker
for mostly for kids who are not of Chinese citizenship or of a country of citizenship where it's established. And so it was a little jarring to see like so many references to like, you know, Western and American pop culture, etc.
00:06:28
Speaker
But as always, as a little kid, I had loved reading and I loved just like it's how I started learning. It started with the Harry Potter books that I found at our coveted scholastic book fairs. And then I started reading those and getting better and better at English. And then I started writing stories.
00:06:48
Speaker
I remember I was in fourth grade when one of my teachers read this little poem I wrote and through like this little Chinese girl, he was just like, wow, this is the best poem I've ever read. And that kind of just sparked the idea.
Balancing Finance and Writing
00:07:01
Speaker
Like someday I want to do something related to writing.
00:07:05
Speaker
Yeah, but with the Asian mom, she's always like, yeah, you're going to be a starving artist, you know? And there are also technical issues for me to be in the US without a visa, because publishing doesn't really sponsor work visas for internationals. So I decided to pursue finance, a practical field, I guess, and then just write on the side. And it just worked out for me very collectively.
00:07:32
Speaker
Well, well, and I had so many questions about that because living, spending a lot of my time in Southeast Asia, we both, my wife and I taught in Singapore as well. And we speak about your mom and you also speak about being a starving artist because oftentimes, and I've had this conversation so many times specifically on this podcast because I'm talking to
00:07:57
Speaker
Creatives who don't follow the traditional path of jobs that most people think are going to give them like security for their family. And I often hear like, yeah, if you're going to be a writer, this is going to be really hard. But you should also do something else just in case. So I guess one of my questions is like, was that difficult for you as a writer?
00:08:20
Speaker
kind of letting your family know like this is something that I wanted to do or were you okay or were they okay because you had already had the other part of like your job in regards to being a financial professional as well.
00:08:34
Speaker
Yeah, I think for me it was not a tough conversation because I was already on a career track to be a young finance professional and I was riding on the side. So my parents actually are pretty, there's a Chinese term called I guess artsy youth and they studied like the arts before when they
00:09:04
Speaker
when they were in school. So they loved it. But they also chose practical career fields. So I think there's always been that kind of like atmosphere, my family, but they were they were extremely happy. And they were like, you know, as long as you can support yourself, you know, just go for it. And we are here for you. I love that. I love that. I love that. And I think I do think it's one of those things where any
00:09:28
Speaker
I think most families, anybody would feel a little bit something if someone isn't doing the traditional path to success. It's just scary in general. So of course, the natural feeling for most people, I think, is just to ask a lot of questions, dig a little bit, make sure you're completely sure that is what you want to do. So that is so...
00:09:50
Speaker
I think it's so normal or natural for someone to feel that way. When you speak about being a financial professional, like what exactly is that?
Finance Career and Personal Insights
00:09:59
Speaker
Can you share a little bit about your other job on top of writing?
00:10:04
Speaker
Yeah. Um, so I, so I actually took a sort of gap year to finish off the trilogy because it was just very, very difficult to, um, write three books while working full time, um, at a bank, but I will be resuming my job within the next month, um, actually. So what I did or do is I work at a bank, um, as a client manager or sales representative for corporate
00:10:33
Speaker
Asian clients. So I focus on leveraging my skills in Chinese and my background. I focus on developing projects and business opportunities for my bank with big Asian clients and specifically Chinese clients in America.
00:10:51
Speaker
Cool so very quickly can you share any advice to anyone that's just like starting out with like saving or getting into money like what is with some advice that you could share with with our audience?
00:11:05
Speaker
um that's such a hard question like that and my friend will come to me with like accounting questions and i'm like i'm not an accountant um i would i'm pretty like i'm pretty reasonable with uh saving like i won't like a lot of my friends will have to window shop and buy things that you know they might not need or like impulse buys and i don't do any of that um i think that
00:11:31
Speaker
Like it's I think personal finance is a course that should really be taught either in high school senior year or in college because like learning to do my taxes even I'm an accounting major but it's corporate accounting not personal accounting and that was still really really confusing so.
00:11:49
Speaker
I think that's a super great question that and I think that it should be taught as a full-time class at least. Yeah and I think that then I and I ask that also because like I just remember growing up specifically in my community of like
00:12:05
Speaker
Finances and money was important of course, but it was never talked in regards to like strategy Same with like in school like I think at the youngest age level like I teach elementary So if they're great kids, I think why not giving them some sort of like financial like not necessarily course or just like giving them an introduction to like how do you take care of money and
00:12:27
Speaker
why is money important like those things I think could really help them in the long run based on just how do you save how do you talk like stocks bonds like little things like that I think could be really really helpful for students early on because I didn't see it until high school and I had to purposefully like sign up for that course because it was being offered so um but you didn't take that well
00:12:50
Speaker
I did like a volunteer program for the finance majors at my school to go teach like personal finance in like high schools during college throughout the U.S. And it was just like just there's no concept of like, you know, savings and then like what you spend in credit, etc. So I think that would be really useful. Yeah, I think so too.
Hobbies and Interests
00:13:12
Speaker
I think so too. Emilio, what do you like to do outside of working at a bank and doing lots of writing? What do you like to do?
00:13:21
Speaker
Obviously, the writer's answer is going to be reading, which I do a lot of. But outside of that, I love consuming documentaries, especially I love history. So I've been like binging this Chinese history documentary that I'm absolutely loving.
00:13:40
Speaker
Um, and then in general, I also love eating. So when, when it's a non pandemic and when I'm like, you know, allowed to able to go outside and eat, I love trying out different cuisines and, or like just binging on like spicy Chinese food. Um, and then just like, I think a lot of education, which ties back to the documentaries and history stuff. So those are my other interests.
00:14:06
Speaker
I also have read that I think you like traveling as well. I love traveling. Yeah, I've been stuck here. So funny story, my passport expired two months into the lockdown. I had been planning to renew it. So I haven't been able to leave the country, but we're going to be waiting for that to open up and to be able to travel again. Well, if you could pick one place to travel, I'm assuming it would be
00:14:35
Speaker
I want to say home, but I don't know. Like, where would you go? Like, where would you go if you were able to try?
00:14:40
Speaker
Definitely home. It's been over, it's been two years since I've been able to go back counting the pandemic here. And there's just so much to see in China, especially with how much it's been developing. There's just so much to learn. And I just feel like I'll never learn enough of the history and the culture of all the different regions and people there. So yeah, I was definitely China for me.
00:15:08
Speaker
Wow. Wow. So I just have a few more questions for you.
Creative Side and Current Reads
00:15:11
Speaker
I think the second to last question is what is something most people don't know about you? That could just be, it could be anything from something you don't like, personality traits, anything.
00:15:27
Speaker
I think most people, like when they tell me their first impressions, they're like, oh, you're super put together, you know, very professional from your corporate job days. But I have like a super goofy side, my fiance and close friends will tell you. And recently I've unleashed this meme brain into making like a lot of content for TikTok and for reels. And they've got like one of my reels has like 1.6 million views. And I'm just like,
00:15:56
Speaker
I'm so glad that there's somewhere for me to use my main brain and entertain people while I'm at it. So I think that's my new fun fact. That is so cool. You'll have to share that with me because I'm so interested in what that looks like. It's probably so fun. It's probably so fun.
00:16:19
Speaker
what are some things you enjoy reading? Um, wha out there that you think or would like to read? Okay,
00:16:33
Speaker
devouring his piece of prey by Ayanna Gray who's a fantastic friend and has showed me a ton of like interest into baby elephants for some reason. It is about two teens in a magical and dangerous jungle on a hunt for a
00:16:53
Speaker
piece of Prey and it's based on Pan-African mythology and lore and it's well written. And my next book is Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett. I am super super excited for this. I was actually trying to finish this during Black History Month but I got a lot of deadlines and so this is
00:17:16
Speaker
Up next on my T.E.R. And then one more. Sorry, I can talk about books forever. It's okay. It's okay. It's good. I'm also reading Sir Cers. Sir Cers, yeah.
00:17:29
Speaker
series by Madeline Miller about a Greek nymph goddess and a feminist retelling of it. So I'm kind of a serial reader and I tend to read different books at once. Those are such good options. I read The Vanishing Half maybe
00:17:49
Speaker
month ago and it's everyth is saying. So you're not go at all. But now I have two o need to read. So this is r really, really good. I w you so much for hanging o
Connecting with Amelia Online
00:18:09
Speaker
Yeah, people can find me on Instagram and TikTok at a Mayleewindjau, just my full name. Especially on TikTok, where you can find all of her baking videos.