parents

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.

Their flawed care, / But perfect love

They ultimately piece everything together, uniting all the admirable traits, weird habits and strange mannerisms into the adult I’ve become.

"A joke given by life will always be funny; therefore, those who don’t laugh at it are either too proud or too stupid."

We never fully overcome a loss, but we evolve to accept that loss. My parents have significant others who are not each other, and I am happy for them.

It's in all the little mannerisms and phrases I've stolen from “you”, it's in the way I dress and the way I define love; all little pieces of you that are stitched into my identity, woven seamlessly into my life, seasoning all of my experiences like a familiar recipe.

Both of my parents are doctors, so several aspects of my life have been affected by being surrounded by people who practice medicine.