When was the last time you felt lonely? What brings you joy? I would invite you to hold onto those thoughts for a moment. As the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on our lives and livelihoods in 2020, another pandemic – infinitely more insidious and damaging – ravaged our hearts. Often referred to…
Category: Reflections
This Is Why I Fight
This post is a personal one. Whilst it is not always a painful one, it is certainly a post that I wrote and rewrote a number of times in fear of not giving it the due attention it deserved. It is also worth bearing in mind that I have only found the courage to publish…
Moulin Rouge! – The Broadway Extravaganza
For wide-eyed first-timers to New York, the lure of Broadway and all its promises of razzle dazzle would have been irresistible. Such was the lure which led me to fork out a mouth-watering US$500 for two mezzanine tickets at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in midtown Manhattan. If the stage setting was anything to go by…
Making Peace with Your Insecurities – Because You Are Good Enough
There are times when I feel so thoroughly depleted that I cannot write a word, let alone string together a sentence. There are times when nothing I say or do comes out right, the way I intended it to be. What if I told you this has been one of those times? What if I…
5 TED Talks to Change Your Mind
I logged into WordPress today, horrified at the realisation that I have not produced any original content for over a month (Almost Friends was really a repost from August)! A blogger I follow astutely pointed out that if we don’t adequately nourish and nurture our blogs, what right do we have to demand an active…
I Am Unapologetically Myself
Sorry seems to be the hardest word. Unless, of course, you are Asian. My family emigrated to Australia from China when I was nine years old. I remember very little of the lead-up to the Big Day, and even less of the months of acclimatisation that followed, much of it spent in tears of self-pity…
13 Reasons Why – I Live the Lives of Others
Every once in a while, what you come across in life leaves a profound impact. You might not realise it at first, but it plagues you, creeps up on your consciousness and refuses to loosen grip until you have confronted its glare. You may not know what I am talking about. I did not know…
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Insignificant
Ever since I embarked on the WordPress journey in earnest, I had vowed to maintain a blog that exudes positivity and grace. I catered to what the Internet desired, namely, servings of impeccably crafted words garnished with glossy, curated photography. SoMuchToTellYou was thus underpinned by this very premise, a premise which I am about to…
There’s No Place for Regret in Heaven
The ability of Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma (founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba) to make headlines around the world is no longer news. Just as the world extols his latest act of kindness – a USD20 million donation to the University of Newcastle as a tribute to his Australian “father” and mentor – it brought to…
Mice that Roar – Holding Our Own in an Extrovert’s World
Have you ever read a book that spoke right to your heart, just when you needed to hear it most? Have you ever wanted to scream and shout in excitement that surely it must have been written to you? For me, Quiet by Susan Cain is one such book. In a world where the only…
A Place to Call (Second) Home
The Window, The Door & The Teacup I have lost all track of time as I am sitting here, immersed in my thoughts, of nothing in particular and yet everything at once. I suppose that’s inevitable when you decide to take stock; you are quickly besieged by the unceremonious merger of thoughts from near and…
Will You Share in this Beautiful Silence with Me?
Dear You, I fell in love with you the moment I cradled you in my arms. A feisty, bawling bundle of joy. You cried incessantly, at all hours of the day and night, but the nook of my arms seemed to bring you solace, and in return, that impish smile of yours would shine straight…
Trust – The Underpinnings of Scandinavian Happiness
For those of you whom have followed my journey through Scandinavia earlier this year, you may already have an inkling of my long-held fascination for the people of the north and their enviable way of life. What started out as a childhood adulation for all things Lego (i.e. Denmark’s gift to the world) has grown to…
Romance on the Road – Why It’s Easy & Why It Never Lasts
For the post published on Thought Catalog, click here. When you think of travelling, do you think of romance? Not the heady heights of a booze-infused orgy, of course, but the kind that sweeps you off your feet with its inexplicable intensity. The kind that sends electric flutters up and down your spine. The kind of…
30 – Happy (and I Know It)
Perhaps it is the onset of spring (at least for us lucky souls in the Southern Hemisphere). Perhaps it is the halo effect of my (now distant) sojourn in Scandinavia, the Land of Everlasting Happiness. I’m staring down the barrel of my fourth decade on Earth, and yet instead of fear, or distress, or a…
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