One experience I remember is being on stage in the spotlight performing a poem and not being able to see the audience because the spotlight was so bright. I could feel and hear them listening to me but I couldn’t see them in the dark. I proceeded to do my thing. Sometimes you’re in the …
Monthly Archives: June 2020
Would you love me if my skin were purple?
I wrote this poem when I lived in China, after experiencing racism while being mistaken for being a race that I am not. I’m Chinese American (ethnically Chinese born in the US, like my parents, most of my grandparents and some of my great grandparents who were born in the US in the 1800s) and …
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If you would prioritize a tree, then prioritize the seed
It’s hard to look at a seed and see a tree. But if you want a tree, then you have to prioritize the seed—no matter how small it is. “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” —Chinese proverb
Vanilla isn’t plain
“Plain vanilla” is a phrase I thought about differently after I had ice cream in Ecuador that was plainer than vanilla. What flavor was it? It was like vanilla ice cream without the vanilla. They called it milk flavored ice cream. And you know what happened? I tasted the milk, and the cream and the …
The market’s not perfect, but it’s not imperfect either
I went fishing with my 4-year-old son and while everyone else was fishing off the pier, he wanted to fish from the shore, where he could see through the shallow water, so that he could see the fish before we caught it, if we caught one. I didn’t want to discourage him, so we went, …
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Keep your word
My 4-year-old son understands what I say, and if I say that he can have ice cream for dessert, you can bet that he will remember. If I try to go back on this, for example, by saying that since he ate ice cream at grandma’s house in the afternoon, then he can’t have ice …
The best kid life vest is the one the kid will wear
We’ve been going kayaking in the creek near my house and I bought a swim vest for my daughter and then realized it was symmetric and wouldn’t float her in a way that would tilt her nose and mouth toward the air (as opposed to the back of her head) if she fell into the …
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Trust what you see
I was playing soccer once and I made a long pass to a teammate who then scored a goal. Right before I made the long pass, two of my teammates were calling for the ball asking me to make shorter passes to them. Right when I made the long pass, they thought I had made …
Treat different things differently
Where I live in America, the grocery stores offer plastic bags to place your produce in, including mushrooms. In Europe, they offer plastic bags for most things, but paper bags for mushrooms, because mushrooms will go slimy if they’re kept in plastic bags for an extended period of time. Mushrooms keep better in paper bags. …
Always worth it
Some things are always worth it for me—a run, a swim, a surf, playing soccer. Outdoors and exercise in general, even if I’m not feeling very motivated to do those things before I do them. Afterwards, I never have any regrets. It’s always worth it. If you know that something is always worth it for …