growth

When I think about the gấc fruit, two things stand out: its bright, fiery, reddish-orange, spiky rind, and how Ba used to grow them in our backyard.

I can grow wings, even feather-light bones

There’s an intricate delicacy in shared looks across the room and bitten-back smiles behind brushed fingertips; another language in scribbled notes and tight, quick hugs. I want slow egg-cooking mornings and a midday coffee.

The weekend comes around, and suddenly, I don’t have so much time. It isn’t that I, or anyone else, intentionally let job postings expire without ever submitting a resume. I think the bottom line is the misperception of permanence — that things will always be there.

Once I started realizing these foundational cracks, I began wondering what my life would be like without him. In fact, I fantasized about it.

A piece of wisdom that I’ve heard is that camp can be a redefining moment for kids’ lives. And I’ve learned many ways that this statement rings true.

It wasn’t an easy process, and it never is. I encourage anyone to take the time to recognize their cycles have pause, stop and restart settings. Though it doesn’t always come immediately, success eventually emerges from learning from rejections.  

While we can’t ever have concrete and solidified evidence like numbers to measure how much we’ve changed in the past year, we can always start a conversation with ourselves and the ones that we’ve found to have our back.

Instead of burying 2022 in the past, let the lessons you learned live on to empower you in 2023. Your previous challenges equip you for your current endeavors.

I am growing / and so are you / at least we know this one thing.