To The Girl In The Purple Pyjamas
When you are little, people like to ask you: “What do you want to be when you grow up”. Some kids want to be a doctor, or a teacher. Others want to be a police officer or a firefighter. Maybe, you will hear the occasional vet or astronaut. I once too got that question. Maybe when I was six, and then another time when I was eight. But no matter what age I was, my answer was always the same.
“I want to be a children’s book writer.”
The Imagination Equation
I used to say that I hate contemporary art — which is interesting, given that I absolutely love contemporary dance. Like, yes queen. Show me a 3-minute piece where all your bodily movements somehow represent the colour green — What I mean is that I used to hate the type of contemporary art that makes you say: “hmm, I can do that.” I would quietly dismiss it, and I did not think it was impressive. I just couldn’t understand the appeal to an almost blank canvas with just a few coloured dots and stripes, as opposed to an impressively painted scene from mythology or history. Classical art gave me a story, a skill to admire, and a meaning that feels comfortable and easy to understand.
I Was Recently Diagnosed Chinese
I open TikTok and a new trend emerges.
She is wrapped in porcelain cups, red envelopes, and the smoke of incense.
She smells like garlic, ginger, matcha tea, and steamed apple.
She sounds like violins and pianos, like my Duolingo owl singing,
“wǒmen jīn shēng zhù dìng shì cāng sāng.”
I watch.
I smile.
I am slightly confused.
Since when did my race become a trend?