Meet Debbie Yoon

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Debbie Yoon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Debbie below.

Hi Debbie , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience is rooted in witnessing my immigrant parents come to America, unable to speak the language, with nothing to their name, and build a life from the ground up through determination, sacrifice, and unwavering perseverance. As an adult now, I have such a greater appreciation and admiration for what my parents were able to accomplish and give to me and my brother. Seeing them face uncertainty and hardship without giving up taught me the value of hard work, grit, and hope.

Growing up with that example taught me that hardship is not a signal to stop, but an invitation to keep going. When things feel overwhelming, I lean on the perspective they gave me…that struggle is temporary, growth is often uncomfortable, and forward movement matters more than perfection. Over time, I’ve learned that resilience isn’t something you’re born with, it’s built through faith in yourself, repeated effort, and the willingness to adapt. At its core, my resilience comes from believing that no matter how uncertain the path becomes or how steep the odds are, I can trust myself and continue moving forward with purpose.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I started my podcast State of Sonder at the start of 2025. It was something I had wanted to do for over a decade, and finally brought it to life. Sonder is the profound realization that every person you come across, whether you interact or not is living a life just as complex, vivid, real, layered as your own. You might just be a fleeting glimpse in their life, just a face in the crowd, a passing car, someone in a lighted window. Yet every individual carries an entire world within them filled with unique stories, quiet worries, deep ambitions, unspoken fears, moments of immense joy, but also of immense grief. As you move through your own existence, some people around you are experiencing the greatest moments of their lives, while others are enduring unimaginable pain. All of it happening at once. This simultaneous coexistence is what it means to be in a state of sonder. It’s what I find so beautiful, so meaningful, and so purposeful. It’s the perspective I hope to illuminate through this podcast. State of Sonder is built on human connection. It’s creating space for people to be seen, to feel heard, to reflect on the experiences that shaped who they are – their passions, their inspirations, their journey. My hope is that listeners will recognize pieces of themselves, find connection in these conversations, feel inspired, and find comfort in knowing they’re not alone.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Patience. State of Sonder lived inside me for over a decade before it ever existed in the world. For a long time, I thought that meant I was failing to act, but I’ve come to realize that ideas often need time to mature alongside the person carrying them. The advice I’d give is don’t rush yourself into becoming who you think you’re supposed to be. Pay attention to what keeps returning to you because that’s usually what’s meant to be built. Trust that.

Courage. It is the quiet choice to bet on yourself when there are no guarantees and no applause. To choose your own path, voice your own truth, and pursue what matters to you requires faith in yourself even when doubt is loud. True courage shows up most clearly in vulnerability. Allowing your authentic self to be seen. All your hopes, insecurities, imperfections, and truths. It means risking misunderstanding, rejection, or failure. Yet it is only through this openness that real connection, growth, and fulfillment become possible. Hiding may feel safer, but it also keeps you small. Everyone carries fear. Fear of not being enough. Fear of judgment. Fear of failure. Courage doesn’t demand that these fears disappear, it asks that you acknowledge them without letting them decide your actions. Feeling the fear and doing it anyway is an act of self-respect. Each time you do, you strengthen trust in yourself and prove that fear does not define your limits. In choosing to be courageous, you choose alignment over approval, truth over comfort, and growth over stagnation. Over time, these brave choices compound, shaping a life that is not only successful, but deeply honest and meaningful to you.

A more technical skill is learning editing software. I use Adobe Premiere, and while my background in motion design gave me a foundational understanding of editing footage, it still took time to get comfortable with the workflow, and I’m continuing to learn. Thankfully, YouTube university exists where there are so many free resources that make it super accessible to learn these tools. It’s important not to be too hard on yourself if things aren’t perfect. Even now, I still encounter mishaps with episodes and edits, but each mistake is part of the process. You learn as you go, and with time, you get better.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Absolutely! Collaboration is at the heart of State of Sonder. I’m always open to connecting with people who are willing to share their stories and perspectives, individuals from all walks of life, backgrounds, and experiences. The beauty of this podcast lies in its diversity and in the honesty of human connection. If you have a story, a journey, or a perspective that feels meaningful to you, there’s space for it here.

If you’re interested in collaborating or being a guest, you can connect with me by messaging on social media @debbiejyoon or @stateofsonderpodcast, or by emailing [email protected]. I’m always excited to see where these conversations can lead 🙂

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debbiejyoon/ | https://www.instagram.com/stateofsonderpodcast
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@stateofsonderpodcast
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@debbiejyoon
  https://www.tiktok.com/@stateofsonderpodcast