Believe it or not some people have a hard time with Asian people being Asian and eating dumplings on New Years… so it’ll probably be a hard pill that we’ve also got a whole other New Year.
A resolution? Spending as little time as possible dealing with closed mindedness. Who’d pass up an excuse for more xiao long bao? New Years, a baby’s baek il, Shohei Ohtani’s birthday, all valid.
True story though, the journey to love my Asianness just keeps getting better. This month it’s looked like memoirs by Kat Chow and David Chang, Irvin’s salted egg chips, finally watching a Hayao Miyazaki movie, and loving the way my middle child seems to have inherited eyes that kiss at the corner. It’s Thich Naht Hanh’s influence on Western spiritual leaders like Thomas Merton and MLK, my friend @jieunandgreg reclaiming her name, and hearing Tagalog and Cambodian dialogue on The Cleaning Lady.
Let’s get on with this Tiger Year.
Let’s be real, January was an off month in a lot of ways. Sickness. Daycare closures. And not having much access to some of the things in life that help me feel alive. I know seasons of dormancy are natural and healthy but this one didn’t exactly have me feeling like me.
But… I just bought some plane tickets. And I’m planning another trip. And I’ve got some space cleared on my calendar to do some of that deeper creative work that goes beyond making stuff and to give new ideas a chance to breathe.
Take the restart if you need it. If not, enjoy a day of being very Asian and treat yourself to some xiao long bao.
A Very Asian New Year