Welcome to Open Note!

Hi friends, and welcome to my first newsletter!

For those of you who are reading this as it comes out, thank you for signing up! It really means a lot to me, and I’ll do my best to make these reads fun and insightful! ❤️

If you’re reading this sometime later, thank you still! I hope you’ll consider subscribing to future newsletters. 😊

This is probably a good place to start. My name is Caroline. I’m a rising senior at Columbia University (graduating in 2022!). I make YouTube videos focused on education & lifestyle to share the college world from a student’s perspective.

My YouTube channel has led me to branch off into different kinds of media creation… like my Podcast about college student stories (feat. amazing people I’ve met through school and life).

🤔 Why now?

I’ve been wanting to start a newsletter for a while because I really like writing and connecting with people. I also have a lot of thoughts (sometimes organized, often random) that I feel would be more useful written down than stored away in my brain. And I already have a blog and book review page, so why not start a newsletter to have everything in a nice little package? One thing holding me back has been the question of being “good enough.” Fortunately, Adam Grant (among other writers) have convinced me otherwise (see below).

So, here I am, beginning!

📚 Latest Reads

Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist and professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His book Think Again has really motivated me to do just that. I’ll summarize a few of his most important takeaways below:

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant

• Lots of people have ideas. Some good, some bad, some somewhere in between. Rather than staying stagnant in these ideas, Adam Grant encourages us to re-think. No matter how well the status quo has worked for us in the past, we must be open to recognizing when change is necessary.

• Grant calls this “thinking like a scientist.” Scientists are always in the process of revision. Revision helps build reputable science. Scientists actively seek evidence to support or negate their ideas. They don’t just base their ideas on what they want to believe or what someone tells them.

A big part of revision is recognizing that you could be wrong. GASP.

But being wrong is not bad! It’s a necessary step of growth. It opens us up to progress. If someone claims to never be wrong, they’re probably not looking hard enough for what they can improve on. If someone thinks they know everything, they’re probably not searching for what they don’t know.

Which takes me back to the question of being “good enough” to start a newsletter. I initially believed that being “good enough” meant knowing everything about what I’m writing about: study tips, books, college advice, and even myself. But by that definition, no one can ever be “good enough.” I know I’ll never know as much as I’d like. New study techniques will be developed, new books will be written—and this is all in addition to the vast amount of knowledge that has accumulated throughout history.

So, I’ve revised my thinking. I’m embracing this new outlet as a learning opportunity. I’m excited to learn as much as I put in.

Grant has a bunch of other great points, too. Let me know if you’d like to learn more!

🎥 Latest Uploads

Podcast: Tune in to learn about the Columbia Daily Spectator (Columbia University’s newspaper), from the publisher herself!

Vlog: I documented my experience getting both doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine! :)

🎬 Latest Watches

I’m currently watching Manifest on Netflix. It’s been a while since I watched any sort of TV series. I’ve also been interested in British accents this past week. Here’s an interesting video about 20 (!!) types of British accents (if you have time/are interested). I didn’t even know that many existed!

I hope you enjoyed Issue #1 of Open Note. Cheers to being inbox buddies!

❤️ Caroline

P.S. If you have any feedback/comments for me, please reply to this email or contact me on my website: carolinechen.me. I’m always happy to hear your thoughts on content, what you find useful, and what can be improved with some “re-thinking.” :D