It was the morning of Commencement, May 30, 2013, and I woke to a feeling of absolute exhaustion. I had stayed up until close to 3 am the night before talking with my roommates and a close friend of mine who had come to visit. As we gorged on jack fruit and rambutan—exotic fruits brought by my roommate’s mother, we tried not to think about the fact that this was our last night together as Harvard college students.
The next morning, I woke up—red eyed and aching all over—at 6 am for Cabot House’s champagne breakfast. As a house, we walked over to the Yard together . In the early morning, it was cool enough that I wasn’t yet suffocating in my black robes. After a ceremony in Memorial Church, I joined the other summa students in lining up in front of Weld Hall to walk over to our seats. It turned out that we actually ended up lining the walkway between Widener Library and Memorial Church to watch the procession of board members and faculty make their way to the stage. I realized that I forgot to give my parents their commencement tickets the night before so I sneaked out of the Yard to give the tickets to them. As I came back in and squeezed in line next to my friend, my friend told me that none other than Oprah Winfrey had walked right past me, brushing me on the shoulder. I was so disappointed that I missed my chance to see Oprah. But luckily for me, there would be many more chances to come.
As we sat down in the first few rows of “Tercentary Theater,” only a few meters –3 rows—away from the stage where Oprah sat in the seat of honor, I couldn’t help feeling how lucky I was to have the honor of sitting with the summa students right in front of Oprah. As I took close-up shots of Oprah with my iPhone, and later got a close up shot of myself with Oprah in the background, I thought—oh my god—how lucky am I to have this chance and wait till I show my friends!
Well, it turned out there was much more to come.
A few minutes into the ceremony, as I gazed intently at Oprah, I finally caught her eye and our gaze locked for just a millisecond before she looked to the side. It was an electrifying feeling, having shared that moment with Oprah. I can’t explain it, but again, I felt that feeling of luckiness.
I didn’t know exactly what honors the summa students would receive during the Commencement ceremony, but it turned out that we had the opportunity to go on stage and stand in front of the faculty to be congratulated. As we went on stage, I realized all of a sudden that we had the opportunity—like the faculty members—to hug Oprah! As I saddled over towards Oprah, who was predictably being swarmed with students, I decided to try to wait for an opening on the side. That’s when I caught Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s twinkling eye, and he encouraged me to go over and give Oprah a hug. As I hugged Oprah, I was amazed to see real tears in her eyes. I couldn’t believe that I had literally just hugged Oprah! I was so lucky. And then, a few of us got a photo with Oprah right then and there. I shook Professor Gates’ hand before I left the stage to thank him for his encouragement. At that moment, I thought, “I am the luckiest girl in the world.”
So what does all this mean about me, about life? So what if I hugged Oprah? Well, I think what that moment did for me—and all my “Oprah luck moments” before that—was to solidify that thought in my head about just how lucky I am. I was lucky to be a Harvard student and endowed with opportunities beyond imagination for 99.99% of the world. I was lucky to have professors who took an interest in me during my time at Harvard and mentored me. I was lucky to have parents who loved me and supported me in all my endeavors, academic or otherwise. I was lucky to have had the chance to share these past four years with some of the smartest, most genuine, personable, and generous people on earth.
When honor after honor is bestowed upon you during a short period of time as happened to me during the past few weeks before graduation, it is easy to inflate your own ego. Yes, I had worked incredibly hard for what I received, and yes, I believed that my talent should be recognized. But I also realized the role that luck undoubtedly has played thus far in my life. I understand the role of luck in my successes, I know that what all these Oprah lucky moments tell me is not that I deserve everything I’ve gotten, but that I’ve been both incredibly lucky and deserving. I think when you realize the role that luck plays in your life, it is easier to remember to be humble, have gratitude, and give back to the community that has so fortunately given so much to you.