One of the best feelings in the world ❤️

The Sun reflected in a skyscraper, Hong Kong

Chicago

The gaang’s all here!

+ the emotional distress support fire girls

(click for better quality + Id in alt text)

Grosvenor House, Kiev, Ukraine by YODEZEEN Architects

via @extramadness

“I suddenly realized that we were on borrowed time, that time is always borrowed, and that the lending agency exacts its premium precisely when we are least prepared to pay and need to borrow more…” ― André Aciman, Call Me by Your Name

Follower Friday: vigornotvictor

Follower Fridays is a series of profiles highlighting members of Gaysian Third Space to showcase the diversity of gaysians in the Community. This week’s featured member is @vigornotvictor.

Who are you?

Hi GS3 Readers! Thanks for reaching out to be part of this space. My name is Vigor (pronounced “vig-er,” and rhymes with Tigger from Winnie the Pooh). I am. Asian American. Cantonese Chinese. Gay. cis-Male. Currently Able-bodied. Millennial. US Citizen. Middle-class. Agnostic.

Where are you from?

This is difficult to answer, but I usually say: -Southern by Birth. (Born in New Orleans, Louisiana) -Midwestern Boy at Heart. (Grew up in Columbus, Ohio) -West Coast Vibes. (Lived in Los Angeles and Berkeley, California) -East Coast Hustle. (Currently live in Ithaca, New York)

What do you do?

I currently work as the Assistant Director of the Cornell Asian & Asian American Center. It’s hard to define what I do, as it is different every day. I am a scholar practitioner in higher education; this means that I do research on college student, identity, and leadership development and find ways to put these theories and findings into practice on a college campus. I educate students, staff, and faculty on the many, many issues and topics within the Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi American diaspora. …in a nutshell, I help college students find meaning in their young adult life, be their authentic and whole selves, and have a lot of free pizza at campus events.

What are you passionate about?

Asian American issues. campus space and design. healthy lifestyles (e.g. lifting, staying active, eating well). husky puppies.

What is your dream job (real or fantasy)?

The current job I have is definitely a dream job! I had mentors that held jobs like mine in college and I am so grateful to be in a role like this.

If you could change the world with one idea, what would it be?

As cliche as it sounds, love conquers all. This past year especially has been one of hate and so much negative energy. Loving each other and those around you will change the world.

Jungle waterfalls in Laos, Asia @

“Did you know, you can quit your job, you can leave university? You aren’t legally required to have a degree, it’s a social pressure and expectation, not the law, and no one is holding a gun to your head. You can sell your house, you can give up your apartment, you can even sell your vehicle, and your things that are mostly unnecessary. You can see the world on a minimum wage salary, despite the persisting myth, you do not need a high paying job. You can leave your friends (if they’re true friends they’ll forgive you, and you’ll still be friends) and make new ones on the road. You can leave your family. You can depart from your hometown, your country, your culture, and everything you know. You can sacrifice. You can give up your $5.00 a cup morning coffee, you can give up air conditioning, frequent consumption of new products. You can give up eating out at restaurants and prepare affordable meals at home, and eat the leftovers too, instead of throwing them away. You can give up cable TV, Internet even. This list is endless. You can sacrifice climbing up in the hierarchy of careers. You can buck tradition and others’ expectations of you. You can triumph over your fears, by conquering your mind. You can take risks. And most of all, you can travel. You just don’t want it enough. You want a degree or a well-paying job or to stay in your comfort zone more. This is fine, if it’s what your heart desires most, but please don’t envy me and tell me you can’t travel. You’re not in a famine, in a desert, in a third world country, with five malnourished children to feed. You probably live in a first world country. You have a roof over your head, and food on your plate. You probably own luxuries like a cellphone and a computer. You can afford the $3.00 a night guest houses of India, the $0.10 fresh baked breakfasts of Morocco, because if you can afford to live in a first world country, you can certainly afford to travel in third world countries, you can probably even afford to travel in a first world country. So please say to me, “I want to travel, but other things are more important to me and I’m putting them first”, not, “I’m dying to travel, but I can’t”, because I have yet to have someone say they can’t, who truly can’t. You can, however, only live once, and for me, the enrichment of the soul that comes from seeing the world is worth more than a degree that could bring me in a bigger paycheck, or material wealth, or pleasing society. Of course, you must choose for yourself, follow your heart’s truest desires, but know that you can travel, you’re only making excuses for why you can’t. And if it makes any difference, I have never met anyone who has quit their job, left school, given up their life at home, to see the world, and regretted it. None. Only people who have grown old and regretted never traveling, who have regretted focusing too much on money and superficial success, who have realized too late that there is so much more to living than this.” - Wunderkammer 

via @themindmovement