9. I love watching dramas. I grew up watching all sorts of dubbed dramas with my family, so dramas are actually a huge part of my life. My grandparents did not speak English, work, or drive. As survivors of wars and immigrants from another country, they were very anxious about the outside world. Us little kids did not have the luxury of playing outside whenever we wanted. We could not afford toys inside the house either. Therefore, watching dramas after school were our only option- when we were not too busy eating, sleeping, or playing pretend. My parents, especially my dad, would watch dramas on the weekend when they were able to rest from work. If my siblings and I wanted to spend some family time with them, then we would have to watch dramas with them too. Over time, watching dramas became an activity that allowed our family to spend time together. Now, watching dramas is still a favorite pastime of mine.
8. I love reading books. I will forever be grateful for books. Reading books became my lifeline when I was drowning at age 10. My parents were not as present during my elementary years. They were always working to support our family. My grandparents raised my siblings and I along with my cousins. I was the older girl in the group, so I was responsible for taking care of the little ones. I was forced to grow up. I remember feeling very lost and alone in 4th grade. I did not have an adult I could connect with at home, so school became my favorite place to be. My 4th grade teacher basically opened the door to the world for me when he showed all of his students our classroom library. I realized I did not have to "stay at home" with books. I could read and go places. I could escape my world and lose myself in a whole new dimension. Reading books became the one thing that my family could not take away from me.
7. I love working with digital art. I have said it before and I will say it again: I am not a social butterfly, and I am a very sentimental person. I enjoy videography and photography for that reason. I can be behind the camera and still be able to capture the moments. I wanted to learn photography and go into the arts and film industry when I was in middle school and high school. However, I was never allowed to. My dad had expectations he had set for me, and I always felt I had to live up to them. So, I never pursued those interests but still wanted to be able to express myself when words failed me. Luck was on my side when I discovered the world of fan fiction and graphic designs that eventually led me to photoshop and digital art today.
6. I love writing snippets. I think snippets are as good as stories. They are moments- memories- scribbled and captured in action. In fact, it is those individual snippets that combined makes up a story. Think about a storyboard or a timeline. Can you really create an entire story without an outline? Even in real life, we have stages that mark the different chapters of our life story. Graduation. Marriage. Death. I kid you not when I say Shakespeare's "The Seven Ages of a Man" resonates louder than anything at this moment.
5. I love listening to stories. The Hmong people did not have a written language until the Romanized Popular Alphabet was introduced to them in the 1950s. Oral storytelling was how our cultural practices and beliefs were passed down for generations after generations. We have a type of stories called "dab neeg," which roughly means fables, folklores, fairytales, and/or legends. (Now, there is another type of stories called "neej neeg," which refers to storytelling of more recent events. However, I do not listen to "neej neeg" as much as I do "dab neeg.") My grandparents, especially my grandma, were really big on storytelling. She would tell us all these different "dab neeg" when we were kids. Most of them were told to teach us a life lesson (i.e., Cinderella or "Nkauj Nog"). Others were told to scare us from doing something we were not supposed to (i.e., ghost stories as "dab" in dab neeg can also translates to ghost). So, listening to stories was also another activity that allowed our family to spend time together. It was a time when us kids would actually ask questions about the characters and discuss the stories. I still listen to "dab neeg" whether I am cleaning my room, hanging out with my siblings, or driving on the road.
4. I love traveling to new places. I enjoy the sceneries and seeing new places. I do not travel as much as I would love to though. One, I cannot afford to travel whenever and where I want. And two, I am afraid of exploring new places alone. I feel extremely anxious when I am out of my comfort zone. As a result, even though I desire to travel the world, I do not do so. I guess I am still waiting for my traveling companion to show so we can explore new places together.
3. I love watching sunrises and sunsets. I am also quite obsess with moonlit nights. The beauty of nature is at its finest, if I may say so. Maybe one day my traveling companion and I can watch sunrises, chase sunsets, and bask in moonlight together.
2. I love spending quality times with my family and friends. Do I need to say more?
1. I love my independence.
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