"Why did you change your name? And why those names?" The words drop over our dinner table full of 떡볶이 (tteokbokki, spicy stir-fried rice cakes) and 김밥 (kimbap, Korean rice rolls), homemade Korean street food. We all still just for a moment…waiting. I take a breath. My name given at birth is no longer the … Continue reading What’s in a Name?
I’m having some trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that we only have about three weeks left here. I can already feel the loss I’ll feel in returning to the States. I haven’t posted as much as I thought I would while we were here. Likely because we have been pretty busy so I'm … Continue reading Connections to My Seoul
There's a melancholy seeping out of my bones. It seems a sort of thing awakened by being here in Korea. Don't misunderstand, our time here is wonderful and will make for lasting memories. However, just because the experience is beautiful and memorable doesn't distract from or minimize the contradictions that live here. Likely one of … Continue reading Melancholy has Come to Knock
It's surreal to think we've been out of quarantine for about three weeks. It's both been forever and was just yesterday. Dragon, Monkey, and I all have things we strangely miss about our time locked in a hotel. Mostly we all miss the easy routine we fell into along with the sense of certainty of … Continue reading It’s a Beautiful Mess
We finally finished our two-week quarantine yesterday morning! Yesterday marked our official start to our trip. Along with the excitement of finally being able to leave our hotel room after two weeks, I'm grappling with the great uncertainty that lies ahead. As is so often true in life, quarantine was just another opportunity for a … Continue reading Facing What Comes Next
A couple of posts back I talked about leaving my job. It was a tough choice to walk away from, not just the position, but from my work, a sense of comfort, societal (and my own) expectations, and unfulfilled possibilities (however slim). I’m still not certain of what direction my path is headed but I … Continue reading So What’s Next?
I have some of the most amazing friends in my life. They make up part of my chosen family. During these pandemic times, I have stepped back to reflect on life, relationships, and many other aspects of my existence. Part of this reflection has also been on how and where I have channeled my energy. … Continue reading What is Loss Anyway…
Content warning: suicide. I knew when I set out to write this post, it would be one of the more challenging ones. Grief. At the risk of sounding overly melodramatic, my life is punctuated by this word. In particular, my early childhood before going to live with my adoptive parents was marked by numerous losses, … Continue reading Grief is a Tricky Thing
Code Switch: Our Homeland is Each Other (10/10/2018) Before reading, I invite those who are following and reading along on my journey to pause and listen to this whole episode. My words cannot do justice for what the interviewees do in this episode. Second, I am one person and I am not in this space … Continue reading Let’s Talk about Transracial Adoption
Writing on this topic has weighed on my mind for a bit and putting all my swimming thoughts and emotions into words has felt out of reach. Becoming a mother is what drove me further on my journey so it should be expected that this process would affect my approach and experiences with parenting. Parenting … Continue reading Parenting as an Adoptee
Rediscovering My Seoul 