My Life Story

A Journey Through Educational Landscapes and Cultural Transitions

Prologue: Reflections at 38

Writing, as I have learned through years of scholarly practice, is itself a method of inquiry—a way to distill and crystallize life’s experiences into meaningful narratives. At 38, I find myself at another crossroads, compelled to document this journey not merely as autobiography, but as an exploration of how identity, place, and purpose intersect in the life of an educator and researcher.

The act of writing about one’s life serves as what we might call an “entropic reduction”—bringing order and structure to the complex tapestry of experiences that shape who we are. Through this reflection, I hope to trace the threads that have woven together my academic pursuits, cultural transitions, and evolving understanding of language, education, and belonging.

Chapter One: Beijing Departure (August 2016)

The summer of 2016 marked a pivotal transformation in my life trajectory. As August drew to a close, I found myself engaged in a curious psychological pattern—constantly calculating time remaining as a way to postpone the emotional reality of leaving Beijing. “Still a month left,” I would tell myself in early August. “Two weeks remaining,” I’d reason later, as if these mental calculations could somehow slow the inevitable passage of time.

This tendency to delay processing major transitions, I later realized, reflected my deep discomfort with change—a preference for maintaining familiar patterns even when embarking on chosen paths of growth. The dramatic nature of my departure became almost theatrical: packing everything on August 31st, leaving on September 1st, as if the suddenness could somehow make the transition less emotionally complex.

Professional Reflections

My four years working at an international school in Beijing had provided me with a multidimensional understanding of language education that would later prove foundational to my academic work. Beginning as an English teacher and eventually serving as head of the English department, I witnessed firsthand the complex ecology of language learning that extends far beyond pedagogical methods.

The experience challenged my initial technocratic view of language teaching—the belief that mastering certain methodologies or finding effective content would automatically lead to student success. Instead, I encountered the intricate web of factors that influence language education: the tension between standardized test preparation and developing foundational language abilities, the role of cultural capital in student achievement, and the complex power dynamics embedded within educational spaces.

These observations would later resonate deeply with critical theories I encountered in graduate studies, particularly around questions of discourse, power, and subjectivity formation in educational contexts. My practical experience provided a lived understanding of how abstract theoretical concepts manifest in real classroom environments.

Chapter Two: Victoria Arrival (September 2016)

First Encounters with Ecological Thinking

The ferry journey from Vancouver’s Tsawwassen terminal to Swartz Bay offered my first glimpse into what would become a central theme in my academic work: ecological approaches to understanding human experience. The sight of seagulls flying overhead, the integration of natural and human environments, and the community’s visible commitment to recycling and environmental harmony introduced me to ways of thinking about interconnectedness that would later influence my research.

Victoria’s emphasis on environmental stewardship—from the deer wandering freely through neighborhoods to the careful sorting of recyclables—presented a living example of ecological consciousness in practice. These early observations about human-environment relationships would eventually inform my understanding of how language, culture, and context interact in dynamic, ecological ways.

Cultural Translation and Adaptation

The initial cultural transitions were both disorienting and enlightening. Simple activities like learning to recycle properly became profound encounters with different value systems and ways of organizing social life. Rather than approaching these differences with immediate judgment, I tried to experience them organically first—allowing myself to feel curious, confused, or impressed before applying analytical frameworks.

This approach to cultural encounter—experiencing before analyzing—became an important methodological stance in my later research, particularly in understanding how individuals navigate cultural and linguistic transitions without losing essential aspects of their identity.

Academic Community Integration

The dormitory experience at the University of Victoria highlighted the complex dynamics of belonging in academic spaces. As a mature student among predominantly younger undergraduates, and as an international student navigating new social norms, I encountered the subtle ways that academic communities both include and exclude.

These experiences of being simultaneously present and peripheral in academic spaces would later inform my understanding of how institutional contexts shape individual agency and identity formation—themes that became central to my doctoral research on immigrant subjectivity.

Chapter Three: Theoretical Evolution

From Practice to Theory

My transition from classroom practitioner to graduate student researcher represented more than a career change—it was an epistemological shift toward understanding education as a complex system of relationships rather than a technical process of knowledge transmission.

The integration of poststructuralist theory, particularly Foucauldian frameworks around discourse and subjectivity, provided language for understanding experiences I had lived but not yet articulated. Questions about power relations in educational contexts, the role of discourse in shaping identity, and the ways individuals navigate institutional expectations became central to my scholarly work.

Critical Approaches to Language Education

My research trajectory has consistently focused on bridging critical theory with practical pedagogical applications. Whether examining immigrant subjectivity formation, exploring translanguaging practices, or investigating the integration of generative AI in language education, my work attempts to maintain connections between theoretical insights and lived educational experiences.

This commitment to praxis—the integration of theory and practice—reflects my belief that academic research should contribute to more just and effective educational environments, particularly for individuals navigating linguistic and cultural transitions.

Chapter Four: Current Explorations

Generative AI and Educational Futures

My current research into generative AI’s impact on language education represents a continuation of long-standing interests in how technological and social changes reshape educational possibilities. Rather than viewing AI as simply a tool to be adopted or rejected, I’m interested in how its integration might transform fundamental assumptions about language learning, teacher agency, and student empowerment.

This work builds on earlier investigations into translanguaging and ecological approaches to language education, asking how emerging technologies might support more inclusive and responsive pedagogical practices.

Global Academic Community

My research collaborations across Asia-Pacific regions have reinforced my commitment to understanding language education within broader cultural and political contexts. Working with scholars from diverse institutional and national backgrounds has highlighted both the universal aspects of educational challenges and the importance of context-specific approaches to research and practice.

Epilogue: Ongoing Questions

As I continue this academic journey, several questions remain central to my work and personal development:

How can educational research contribute to more equitable and responsive learning environments? What does it mean to maintain authentic connections to one’s cultural heritage while embracing new ways of thinking and being? How can individual stories of transition and growth inform broader understandings of human adaptability and resilience?

These questions don’t have simple answers, but their ongoing exploration continues to shape both my scholarly work and personal understanding of what it means to live thoughtfully across cultures, languages, and academic communities.

The journey from Beijing to Victoria, from practitioner to researcher, from certainty to productive uncertainty, has been one of constant learning and adaptation. It has taught me that identity is not fixed but dynamically constructed through our interactions with places, people, and ideas. Most importantly, it has reinforced my commitment to education as a transformative practice—one that honors both individual growth and collective flourishing.