What’s your hobby?

When I was in second grade, my school had a story writing contest on fire safety. I remember writing my story on Hangul manuscript papers, making sure that I was following the spacing guidelines accurately. Couple days later, my teacher came up to me and asked if I had written the story all by myself. …

A manifesto on love

My friend asked me what it means to be loved all the way through. He asked how I want to be loved. I’ve been seeing 11:11 and 11:23 (my birthday) almost every day. I take it as the Universe’s way of telling me that she is ready to give what I ask for. Here is …

An open letter to men who took a liking to me a little too fast

Dear You, Before I begin, I want you to clearly understand that this isn’t about you.

My growth may be small, but it’s still happening.

1/4/2018 12:33AM If someone asked me what my 2017 was like, I would say it was slow and painful. My 2017 was sticky. My 2017 was holding onto a lot of things that I should've left behind in 2016. It had been a year since I graduated college, yet my life seemed to be dragging. …

You won’t find this on IMDb.

J: Question. Would you die for me? H: Yes. J: That's too easy. Would you... would you live for me? H: Yes. J: Careful. Do not say this oath thoughtlessly. Desire becomes surrender, surrender becomes power. J: You want this? H: I do. J: Say it. Say it. SAY IT! J: Pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty …

What seems to be the issue? Tell us where it hurts.

Couple weeks ago, my friend Sue and I saw a bunch of people surrounding Gangnam Station Exit 10. "Rest in peace," one post-it said. One English speaker heard Sue and I speaking English to each other and asked us what happened here, in which we responded, "we're not sure - I guess someone died here." …

How often do you feel alone or misunderstood?

I used to feel alone a lot. I used to curl up on my bed, scroll down my Facebook newsfeed, and wonder how is it possible for people to be as happy as they seem in their Facebook photos. I used to search for somebody who can love me all the time so I wouldn't have to …

The Cool Girl

When I was a quiet, nerdy student (am I not anymore?) in high school, there were girls that I would envy. I use the word “envy” instead of “be jealous of”, simply because I was never one of them. Rich, smart, skinny, and of course, popular, Asian girls. I wasn't as rich as them, my …

恕 (to forgive)

When I have my child, I will hold her hands and whisper into her ears how much I love her. I will tell her, Listen: The world is full of happiness but there are many dangers. I will teach her to be smart, to be kind, to be secure. She will be exquisite, a darling creature …

Infidelity

Edit: So I was recently reminded that I had lied about how many times I cheated on my ex-boyfriend (with this one person). He asked me how many times I cheated on him and I decreased the number of times I had so "he feels less hurt" - so I feel less guilty. Normally I wouldn't really …