I have 3 sisters. For most of my life, my parents put a lot of attention on my eldest sister. Then I became a mom and it changed everything. Anything I accomplished, my sister had already done it… There are three of us: my eldest sister, my middle sister and me. The relationship I have with my eldest sister is like a snow globe; it stays dormant for most of the year but gets shaken up during the holidays. My childhood memories of her are patchy, most of which were of her babysitting me and holding my hand while we crossed the street. By the time I started kindergarten, she was a pre-teen t ..read more

When we started trying to conceive, I stopped using sex as a weapon. The journey helped me create a family and more intimacy in my marriage. My parents never talked about sex They barely showed physical affection towards each other; and when they did, my dad was always the one who initiated it. It was as though they had sex 3 times to have me and my sisters and that was it.  My mom preached about not “giving it up” until marriage and that sex was something women offer to men in exchange for commitment.  “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?” “7! 7! 7 ..read more

Show up messy, learn from falling, ask for help, and have a big vision From left to right: Dr. Stephanie J. Wong, Becky Choi, Dr. Annie Vovan, Sheena Yap Chan ***Click Here for Part 1*** ***Click here for part 2*** After many long and arduous months of thinking, overthinking, analyzing and overanalyzing…I left my 15+ year career in healthcare to pursue a freelance writing business. This was definitely NOT something I did on a whim or impulsively and I plan to share exactly how I made this decision.  I grew up with parents who preached about getting a stable job that pays the bill ..read more

Build relationships, stay grounded, follow your own rules and let passion lead you. From left to right: Mary Ng, Mary Chan, Da Eun Chung, Jing Fang ***Click Here for Part 1*** After many long and arduous months of thinking, overthinking, analyzing and overanalyzing…I left my 15+ year career in healthcare to pursue a freelance writing business. This was definitely NOT something I did on a whim or impulsively and I plan to share exactly how I made this decision.  I grew up with parents who preached about getting a stable job that pays the bills and gives you benefits…and I did that ..read more

Know yourself, have confidence and take action! From left to right: Selena Fan, Iris Chen, Claire Magenheimer, Angela Wu After many long and arduous months of thinking, overthinking, analyzing and overanalyzing…I left my 15+ year career in healthcare to pursue a freelance writing business. This was definitely NOT something I did on a whim or impulsively and I plan to share exactly how I made this decision.  I grew up with parents who preached about getting a stable job that pays the bills and gives you benefits…and I did that for 15 freaking years! But now, I’m starting a new cha ..read more

Since starting my freelance writing journey, my desire to write for pay has slowly taken over my desire to write for pleasure. This is especially true when I wait to hear back about my pitches. Here's what I'm telling myself to maintain peace within myself. I’m 6 months into my freelance writing journey and one of the changes I’ve experienced is the motivation to write. In addition to client work, I’ve been pitching regularly to websites and my acceptance rate is around 50%. For instance, if I submit 10 pitches, 5 usually get commissioned. I don’t know if that’s good or bad but I’m n ..read more

What are some dreams that you're holding onto? It's important to have dreams so that we remain hopeful and inspired. Lately, I’ve been thinking about my old dreams so I wrote an entire list that I’ve given up on despite thinking they’ll make me happy. Through that reflection exercise, I realized there are some old ones I’d like to revisit and some new ones I’d like to pursue. Create comics As a kid, I went through a phase where I drew comics and doodled whenever I was bored or waiting for something. For instance, there were times when I had to wait for my sisters to finish their piano les ..read more

If you work hard enough, any dream is possible. What if it's not the right one? 10 dreams I stopped pursuing because they don't make me happy. Everyone talks about how we need to keep dreaming, set goals, aim high and work hard. Because if you work hard enough, any dream is possible. Bleh…I don’t think that provides the full picture. Don’t get me wrong, I love to dream, not only when I’m sleeping. I love visualizing the future of what may be. What will a year from now look like? 5 years? 10 years? 20? 30? Where will my new freelance endeavour take me? Will I become rich and famous and get ..read more

I started thinking about what other dreams I had as a kid. So here is a list of 8 dreams I had as a kid that I’ve given up on and why. Did tampons ruin my Olympic swimmer dream? When I was on maternity with my first child, the monotony of routine allowed me to rediscover my passion for writing. As a kid, I wrote stories upon stories, from true, untrue, to never been told. It was a way for me to express myself by making those irrational thoughts into concise words and sentences, especially during that rollercoaster journey of becoming a new mother. This rediscovery has sparked a shift in my ..read more

For years, I wore my engagement and wedding rings. Then the pandemic hit and I started thinking about what those rings actually mean to me. I got engaged in a botanical garden in Egypt. I was waiting in a gazebo while he used the bathroom. When he came back, he got down on one knee and did his thing. The ring wasn’t actually a ring; it was a mould of what it would look like. My husband designed it himself using parts of his mom’s old engagement ring. When we got home, it was finally finished; I was so excited to wear it. Co-workers, friends and family would all ask me to look at the ring ..read more