I quit law school. Then I quit my PhD. | Cheryl Lau

When you've always been the straight-A student, quitting feels like a character flaw - not a decision.

In this episode, my friend Jennifer Ho turns the tables and interviews me. We go through my three-page resume and look for everything it doesn't show: the shame of quitting law school, my mum telling me I needed to "bring harmony back into the family," and then quitting a PhD years later - terrified of becoming a two-time quitter.

This is a conversation about high-functioning doubt, outsourcing your identity to systems, and how I eventually stopped making decisions based on what would make me look good - and started making ones I could actually stand behind.

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) Trailer

(00:47) Opening

(01:47) The story my resume can't tell

(06:02) How I used to define success

(06:46) Why law school and a PhD didn't actually fit me

(11:38) How long I knew something had to change - before I quit

(15:21) The strengths I carried through every pivot

(20:31) How do you know when something isn't right - even if you're good at it?