SAM Frida

I saw this today (see image) and it hit me hard. Because it’s true. When one of your core values is fairness, accountability isn’t just something you hope for—it’s something you need to feel safe. It’s cause and effect. It’s justice. It’s respect. But the...

I come from an Asian culture where performance is in the DNA. Where saving face is second nature. Where being liked and respected isn’t just desired—it’s expected, even if it means suppressing your truth. We become polished, practiced, polite. And somewhere along the...

There comes a moment—sometimes gentle, sometimes shattering—when your soul can no longer tolerate the performance. You’ve worn the masks, tried to fit, adapted out of survival, out of a need to belong, to be enough, to matter. But adapting isn’t the same as becoming....

Hawai‘i feels like home—not because of luaus or the postcard sunsets, though I treasure both—but because of the people. The real aloha. The way locals call a cashier “auntie” or “uncle” at the market, with love and deep-rooted respect. That small gesture says...

This song is more than lyrics—it’s a lifeline. It puts into words the quiet war so many of us fight within: the battle between our inner critic and our inner truth. “You Say” by Lauren Daigle reminds us that even when we feel numb, weak, or lost, we are still deeply...

Boundaries aren’t walls. They’re bridges—back to yourself. For someone who grew up with none, building even one feels like rebellion. At first, it stings. Guilt creeps in. You wonder if you’re being selfish, dramatic, or too much. But the truth is: a boundary is not a...

If telling the truth gets you silence… If telling the truth gets you labeled as unwell.. If telling the truth makes someone more concerned with how they’re perceived than what’s real… You’re not in a safe space. You’re in the presence of someone who isn’t capable of...

There’s something terrifying about the human experience that no one teaches you early enough: we are all walking around with unexamined wounds, unconscious patterns, and an ego that fights like hell to stay in control. Some people are on the path—seeking, healing,...

Some days carry a collective weight. A memory. A ritual. A script we follow without reading the fine print. We gather. We grill. We wave. We post. But have we paused? What is independence, really? Is it just a word tied to a date, or is it something we’ve ever truly...