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...
Lightning split the crimson sky as I aimed my flashlight into the gloomy dusk, surrounded by the chaotic voices of my campers while raindrops filled the air. Carrying heavy backpacking gear and half a...
Landing at San Francisco International Airport in the summer of 2021 after a long flight from Incheon, South Korea, I was greeted by an unfamiliar country with unfamiliar customs. People spoke a language...
After school, I would lean my head against our dinner table — our house too empty, too quiet. With my father gone for business trips and my mother busy writing countless documents for work, their absence...
9:00 a.m. Everyone eats breakfast in front of a zoom screen.
9:30 a.m. I stick my head into my brother’s APUSH zoom room.
10:00 a.m. I watch my siblings giggle in front of a blue screen, wondering...
I pause at the hallway intersection, hands tightly gripping the wheelchair handlebars, eyes darting between two corridors. I rack my brain, trying to recall the routes I had spent weeks memorizing. Is...
Coming home after a long day, I collapse on my bed, thinking of what to do to let off steam. It doesn't take long before I head over to my garage. With the flick of a switch, a stark light illuminates...
Contrary to the traditional glittering red and white ornaments and popcorn-cranberry garlands, my family’s Christmas tree looks like a five-year-old’s art project, adorned with macaroni-bordered pictures,...
