Volunteering at the Lo’i and an individual’s homecoming in times of planetary crisis — I woke up one day and found the familiar feeling of disconnection and loneliness creeping in. I didn’t know what I wanted to do and everything, including getting up, felt equally empty and meaningless. A few months ago, I moved to the Hawaiian countryside alone to live with native plants…

“After hearing your role models and aspirations in life, my question is, why are you a product manager in tech?” I stared at my new mentor at work and laughed. “Wow it took her no time to reflect this back to me.” I thought to myself. There is some bitterness…

A few days ago, I noticed that the disorder in the shared space in my apartment is getting on my nerves. I saw cookies crumbles and cheese bits lying around on the kitchen counter, used pots not washed overnight, and weekly chores still not done after 3 days. I am…

Loneliness hit me a few days ago when my roommates were out with their friends and I didn’t have any social interaction planned for the day. I opened Facebook and scrolled through a dozen friends. I didn’t feel close to anyone so I ended up closing the app. …

4 months ago, my quarter life crisis hit. The nagging feeling of not knowing the future brought me anxiety: I was concerned if I was doing the wrong thing every day; I felt demoralized and drained. As I sat down this afternoon and tuned into my worries for the future…

Micro-experiments for a fulfilling life A combination of the lockdown and life being relatively stable makes me itch for inspirations. The funny thing is I have been at my current job for 1.5 years, which is exactly the longest consecutive duration I have stayed in college before taking time off…

Two weeks ago, I started volunteering as a listener on an anonymous mental health app called 7Cups. I have struggled here and there with mental health. Having had others lifted me up, I finally felt I was in a position to offer help myself. …

On July 6, 2020, ICE announced restrictions on student visas if schools were to go fully online. Many of my international communities instantly went into chaos. Having previously been on an F-1 student visa for 7 years, I know that anxiety too well. When the world strips you off your…