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2020 Words
It is that time of the year where everyone is sharing their word for the year. As I grow older I find I am having a harder time committing to overly positive and ambiguous words. Being extremely positive ALL the time made me blind to things. It contributed to me being ignorant. It took time for me to regain a sense of balance through awareness. It’s weird that there is a part of me that wants to join in and there is an equally strong part of me resisting it. Instead of choosing between the two, I am going to make space for both. A couple of years ago I…
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Define Yourself
Where can you go for a good taco these days? If I asked you to share with me your favorite taco joint, where would you send me? I hope you tell me about your favorites. But lately it seems that instead of sharing what we love and why we love it, we insist on telling people their experience is invalid. We tell them what they should like. We quickly put down other people’s preference and we shun those who don’t agree with us. I’m currently binging Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Season 9: Episode 1. In this episode Bourdain explores the Los Angeles area through the eyes of the Mexicans and…
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Living In Between
Wong Fu Productions has put out a couple of interesting videos. I came across ‘In Between’ and I did a full stop. Oh my gosh! I’m actually lucky that I didn’t have friends make jokes about Asians like this. My friends accepted me as Christi and I saw them for who they were as well. But I suddenly became aware that I was Asian when I asked a boy out. He said it was because I wasn’t his type. *Burn* I went through a similar identity crisis. Only then did I hear the “jokes” and understand the racist comments. I stopped participating in these kind of jokes. It wasn’t funny…
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Baby You’re a Firework. Let’s Light it up.
American holidays are becoming treacherous battlegrounds between the simple nostalgia of community and the political ignorance underlying the origins of each of them. The dilemma is simple: Pros: The community comes together and celebrates it’s oneness. Cons: The community is reminded we are an imperfect nation and we have done horrible things. When you are done sifting the pan most of it is sugar coated marketing. And like most Americans, I am addicted to sugar. Resisting the temptation is hard enough on my own without someone running up and smacking the sugary concoction out of my hand and shaming me for enjoying it. That’s not how you convince me that…
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5 Ways Being a Parent makes you a Great Life Coach
“That which we are, we shall teach, not voluntarily, but involuntarily. Thoughts come into our minds by avenues which we never left open, and thoughts go out of our minds through avenues which we never voluntarily opened. Character teaches over our head.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson,”The Over-Soul” If I can only have one rule to guide me as a parent, it would be to understand our actions will always speak louder than words. Being a parent is not about herding kids from one place to the next. It is about being a life coach to small human beings depending on you to show the way. 1. Life is messy. It happens. The…
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Life in Korea: Speak up and Share What is Important to You!
Coming up on August 15th is Korea’s National Liberation Day. A day that marks Korean citizen’s freedom from Japan’s imperialist rule. In short, this is their Independence Day. So without a doubt this is a significant patriotic holiday for them. One that many Koreans choose to honor by speaking out about the human rights that matter to them. Which is why I think we have recently seen an increase of activity of demonstrators and protesters around Camp Humphreys. It might be pure coincidence with the current political climate, but it makes me think the timing is fitting. Perhaps our own Independence Day should be more than a day of fireworks…
