Queen to G3. I sat with my arms crossed on a table too tall for me, the black and white queens and kings looming ahead. One move to checkmate. He would be forced to capture with his pawn. Pawn to G6. The...
Surviving is not the same as living.
As a child, your firsts are always celebrated. Your first word, first steps, first day of school. But no one truly knows when it may be the last time doing such...
It’s 10 a.m., and a deathly silence permeates the air at the tarnished wooden dinner table. A half-eaten Trader Joe's Mochi Cake lies messily wrapped in aluminum foil, beside a nearly empty bottle of...
While many of my kindergarten classmates went to lunch ecstatic and hungry, I went to lunch every day on a mission: to make a friend. My dad always advised me to make friends by following the other kids...
A jumble of thoughts and emotions clouded my vision as stress piled atop my shoulders, the weight suffocating my chest; and yet, as my fingers slipped through the sturdy nylon strap of my camera to rest...
I remember the mornings of my childhood vividly — the cold breeze, the scent of freshly cut grass, the melody of birds singing in the distance and the anticipation of another day at school. But what...
When I think of my old self, I think of a narrow-minded person who found it difficult to empathize with others. If I had not gone through a similar experience, I could not relate to and help others going...
Olivia is the name my friends and teachers call me. For the most part, it’s an adequate definition of who I am. But it’s not the full story; in fact, Olivia began as an extension, added only to accompany...
According to Japanese folklore, it is believed that by folding a thousand paper cranes, a person’s dreams would be granted. This is known as “Senbazuru,” a superstition that has inspired since the...
For the longest time, I came in twos.
Two matching pink dresses, the label hand-embroidered with L and H: CHelsea and CLaire. Two Elsa costumes for Halloween, a set, the polyester showering blue glitter...
Amber light seeps from windows, smiling faces shaded by olive branches that sway with wind and coffee-house jazz music. I’m writing this column during my 15-minute break, honey lemon tea nursed in one...
