Month: May 2020

It was 12:47 a.m. when I first heard my dad’s scream. Fearing the worst, I immediately closed my eyes and put my hands to my ears. I muttered under my breath that everything was fine, my dad was likely having a nightmare and my mom’s wails were just figments of my imagination. But I suppose… Continue reading Humans need humans

Released on May 22, “Notes on a Conditional Form” (NOACF) sits as The 1975’s fourth studio album. “Notes …” did more than I had initially anticipated. The 1975 built a lot of hype around the release of the album, with pre-releases over live streams and shows, to a trippy virtual site “Mindshower.ai” where they unpack… Continue reading “Notes on a Conditional Form” review

In September 2018, I patted down my tears, breathed out one last long sigh and bid my final adieu to the world that had welcomed and cared for me. For the past seven years, I had been in a relationship with Mason. He was my closest companion and the one I could always depend on.… Continue reading Facing failure

Four years ago, I started high school plagued with questions. I questioned whether I was good at anything and the like. Even today I still don’t have the answers to them. In retrospect, I truly was a bit of an idiot in freshman year. I was terrified of failing to meet everyone’s expectations and my… Continue reading Best Regards

I leaned against my locker, preparing for another tough day at practice during my freshman football season. Earlier in the season, I had already been chased around by a half-naked senior near this same locker, but I had hoped things would change. Five minutes later, I was in a fetal position crammed inside a varsity… Continue reading Started from the bottom now we’re here

“List 3 words that describe yourself.” No matter how many essays a college required, this prompt always started a tug-of-war in my brain. The tug-of-war was hopeless; ultimately, I always put down the same three words: compassionate, genuine and driven (or something along those boring lines). But, in the back of mind was the word… Continue reading List three words…

I’ve never been someone who handled change well. For as long as I can remember, I would do my best to plan out my future to ensure that I would be able to prepare for what was coming. Despite loving the idea of spontaneity, I feared change. At the beginning of my senior year, my… Continue reading A changed relationship with change

Growing up in the heart of Silicon Valley, I’ve been exposed to various communities of people from an array of heritages. I mean, with so many Asians, this place has to be diverse, right? The fact is, it’s not. The Bay Area is crammed with so many boba, ramen and Indian chains  that there isn’t… Continue reading I can’t count the reasons I should stay

Cupertino never felt like home. It took me approximately 18 hours to realize that. The air was unfamiliar and stale, too cold and sharp for my body, which was used to the fervent nature of tropical heat. For the 10 years I lived in Singapore, America had always been some kind of dream land for… Continue reading The girl who dreamt in color

Hi again! Your friendly neighborhood tortoise, reporting back for duty. I know you probably didn’t expect to see me again after my rather melodramatic exit back in May of 2019, but I’m back to provide some advice in the self-deprecating and embarrassing way I always do. It’s been a rather wild ride since I’ve last… Continue reading Tortoise Triumphs