Risk Being Seen
I’ve been scared to wear this shirt lately. When I first bought this Phenomenally Asian shirt, I was proud. I wanted to stand in solidarity with a community that I had felt distanced and sometimes excluded from. But now that I’m being heard when there are those who would do a Filipino harm for being Asian.
Creativity and Motherhood My Way
I’ve been thinking a lot about motherhood, mental health, and being Asian-American and how those things affect my creativity. What started out with wondering if I could be a mom and an artist turned into a decade long journey of discovering what my creative blocks are and finding ways to overcome them.
A Curly Hair Journey Update
When I got my first shag hair cut, I really wanted to better understand my curls. That not only included how to care for them and style them, but as a Filipina I wanted to know where my curls came from and how to love my curls.
Immigrants, Ancestors, and Bullies
I laughed at Tatay’s seeming attack, but with my Filipino-immigrant-father-trying-to-connect-with-his-daughter ears turned on I responded, “I never told you I was bullied because it wasn’t until I was this age that I finally understood that I was bullied as a kid.”
A Fashion Reminder
My love for pairing sneakers with a dress began when I was a sophomore in high school. I was styling some items; a pair of small-flare jeans, gray Converse with pink trim, a red thrifted fine-knit cardigan, and an abstract floral tube top dress with an asymmetrical hem were laid out on my bed and I knew I had something.
A Chill Spring
As the weather warms and the days get longer, I feel my body begin to release the tension of the winter season. And that release manifested in spring cleaning projects and the unearthing of my dresses and other light and flowy clothes. I’m ready to chill, but alas, it is early spring in the midwest and the weather is, literally, still chill.
Freedom in Laughter
I I was listening to Glennon Doyle’s podcast, We Can Do Hard Things, with Gloria Steinam titled, “Laughing Our Way Through Liberation.” while grocery shopping and I couldn’t help but “yup” out loud, well aware that I was in a public space. This episode caused a lot of self reflection and I needed to write them down to make sense of the awareness I was coming to, how I use my laughter.