Growing up, kids pulled on their eyes to make fun of me. They asked me if I could even see where I was going. So many days, I’d come home crying – wanting to switch schools most days and wishing I was never born on other days. I hated being Chinese. But now, I'm doing everything I can to make up for lost time.
Sometimes we say I'M FINE when we don’t mean it. Sometimes we CHANGE our minds and don’t tell the world. Sometimes we run AWAY to find our own ways back home. Sometimes we just do what’s best for ourselves. Call it selfish, self-preservation, or self-love. It’s putting ourselves first.
Whenever I get asked why I travel, I always answer "Because I am my best self when I'm traveling." And that's true. But it's not the whole truth. We don't like to admit it but sometimes we travel to run away. Run away from our fears and doubts, run away from not enoughness.
Inspired by Off Assignment's series, this Letter to a Stranger is to the photographer who held space for me at the Temple at Burning Man. Thank you.
For the first time in my life, I’m taking an active role in driving the direction of my life. I’m deciding what I love, what I believe to be true, and what is worth keeping and/or bringing into my life. So here are my 8 Truths.
I am a Chinese-American woman, born in the United States but with Chinese roots. As I've traveled around the world and found home in far off places, I've found myself struggling more and more with the question "Where are you from?"
My Solo 3-Day Trek Up Mount Kenya: How it took disconnecting from the world, tuning into my thoughts and scaling Africa's second highest peak to turn off autopilot.
Inspired by Off Assignment’s series, this Letter to a Stranger is to the soccer player who used my flaws to win my heart. I don't remember your name. And I don't try to. You preyed on my weakness but I am stronger now in spite of you.
Our Little Black Book: We don't need to know each others' secrets. We don't need to know each others' worries, fears or insecurities. But just knowing they exist, well, that's enough to remind us to treat each other with love and compassion.
As much as we've caught the travel bug, as much as we want to pack up that tattered backpack of ours and keep moving, and as much as we crave adventure, we all need these moments of stillness in our lives to make all of these incredible experiences meaningful to us.
Elodie Kwan 