Emotions, Unfulfilled Dreams, & More: Some thoughts on 'Creed III'

/
Emotions, Unfulfilled Dreams, & More: Some thoughts on 'Creed III'

I should admit–this movie had not been on my radar to see at all. Sure, I had seen it around here and there; but the title didn’t mean as much to me as it would to someone who is avid Michael B. Jordan fan (considering that this film marked his directorial debut), or to someone else who enjoyed growing up following the Rocky franchise (I actually didn’t know the Creed trilogy was born from the ‘Rocky’ movies until later). Despite this, I somehow found myself among the moviegoers in theaters to see it on its opening weekend. I had no background or expectations going in–but I was surprised that I quite enjoyed the movie, namely for some themes that it engaged with that I wanted to share my thoughts on here.

Read More

Finding New Hobbies As An Adult

/
Finding New Hobbies As An Adult

I don’t really have any hobbies.🙇🏽‍♀️

I was forced to face the music on this recently due to two things. One of such being dating apps–because there’s no escaping the dreaded questions of “What are your hobbies?” or “What do you do in your free time?” The other thing that made me realize my lack of hobbies was living in a different country, in the middle of nowhere. I’ve had previous extended stays outside of the US; but during my other travels, I was usually in big cities, where it was easy to find random things to fill up my time. But while residing in the mountainous northern countryside of South Korea–far from the city and having pretty few opportunities to interact with others (as my area basically comprised of children, soldiers, and elderly folks)–I realized: I don’t have anything concrete that I like to do.

Read More

My Best Reads of 2021

/

A few years ago I set an intention to get back to reading–and at the end of another year, I’m happy to report that I have successfully stuck to that commitment!

And even more recently, I dedicated myself to actively seeking out and spending more time reading books by and about underrepresented identities (in the world of fiction, that essentially means nonwhite identities; you can read why I did this here). And I’m so glad that I did, because every single book on this list is a result of that intention–and I likely would have missed out on these stellar reads if I was doing otherwise.

Part of the joy of reading is of course experiencing a story; but, as a natural storyteller myself, I’m aware that for me, the other part of the joy lies in sharing my reads with others. And that’s what inspired me to compile this list and present them to you here as a blog post–with hopes that you all will be inspired to check them out as well~

Read More

My goal in this single short lifetime is to live as many lives as possible.

/
My goal in this single short lifetime is to live as many lives as possible.

The older woman took her time approaching the counter, her gait a slow, measured shuffle. When she reached where I stood on the other side, she inquired about the restroom. While we have signs notating that ‘Restrooms are for customer use only’, I directed her to the back of the restaurant where they were located. However, she didn’t proceed on. Instead, she stared at me. After a few beats, she asked “You still getting them good shoes for free?”

Well. That was…unexpected.

Read More

Your Anti-Racism Must Include Asian Americans

/
Your Anti-Racism Must Include Asian Americans

This year, Black History Month and the Lunar New Year overlapped in the month of February. And while there is subsequently and rightfully a significant amount of narrative around uplifting Black voices, we don’t see anywhere near the same movement around Asian and Asian American voices, at any point of the year. I am only a single voice--one that doesn’t really have much of an audience honestly--but this month, I want to use my voice and my platform to uplift those of another group that faces racism, hate, marginalization and discrimination in the US and across the globe.

Read More

My Steps For Decolonizing My Writing

/
My Steps For Decolonizing My Writing

Previously, I wrote about how I recently came to realize how anti-blackness & white-centered narratives had infiltrated my storytelling and writing career (if you haven’t read it, you may want to click over to get the full background before diving into the rest).

So as promised, here are the steps I took/am taking to undo this mindset.

Read More

Recognizing My Anti-Blackness As A Black Writer

/
Recognizing My Anti-Blackness As A Black Writer

I am a writer. I mean that more in the life-calling sense, rather than the vocational sense. I wrote my first coherent story in the 2nd grade--a memory I vividly remember because of how my teacher responded. It was about a child who was stuck in a toy store and spent the night there alone. Everyone in my class had been assigned to write something on this prompt; but I had weaved a narrative with detail and depth that had apparently surpassed what was expected of a second-grader. My teacher was so shocked by the story I wrote that she went on to inform everyone from my mother to the principal. She even got me featured as a highlight in the school newsletter for it. It was honestly life-changing; before then, I remember feeling like the odd one out, even as early as kindergarten, because I didn’t feel like I had any talents. But from that incident onward, I finally found my gift.

However, about two years ago, another truly startling realization came to me:

That the characters in my fiction pieces were, and always have been, almost exclusively white.

Read More

Life During COVID-19 in South Korea (Seoul)

/
Life During COVID-19 in South Korea (Seoul)

For a while now I’ve resided in South Korea--thousands of miles away from my hometown in the southeastern United States. And while these two places usually do things in different ways (given cultural, linguistic and infrastructure differences), the way life seems to be comparing across these two countries has become especially deviant today, in mid-2020.

If you’ve consumed any form of media, you’ve probably heard South Korea floating through international news quite a bit this year. And it had nothing to do with k-dramas or BTS, and everything to do with COVID.

I’m gonna assume you already know most of the rundown, but I’ll also sum it up shortly: Christian cult caused a massive spike in the spread of cases in Feb 2020, government took big steps with testing and contact tracing. No lockdown, yet the country experienced an excellent reduction in cases and deaths in less than 12 weeks.

That gives kind of the bird’s-eye view of things, from the public health standpoint. But of course public health doesn’t exist in a bubble, separated from the rest of society. Thus in so many countries, lockdown and social distancing has also drastically changed the rules of social life as well.

So given the good marks of how the country managed the COVID crisis, what does daily and social life look like now in South Korea?

Read More