Papa always said to me:

Do what you love — and do it well. 
Focus on creating high quality work. 
Do not slave on the dreams of others.
Do not waste your time on anything else.

***

My daddy is a mathematician (a finance professor by trade).
My mama is an artist (a poet, a painter, a sculptor, a chef).

They are inventors and dreamers and creators of possibility. Who curated a most beautiful upbringing for my four brothers and me. They were not perfect by any means but— they taught us to do what we loved.

Mama stayed at home. And when I was little, daddy was always home too. They played with us and made time for us and taught us a million things. They read us books and took us on adventures and always prioritized the family. We travelled the world and lived amongst many cultures and expanded our little minds.

They had the highest expectations of us. They were strict and traditional in the way Asian parents are, and they wanted no less than the best. But instead of forcing us to learn many things, they instilled a love of learning in us. They fanned the flames of our innate curiosity and taught us how to play.

Nothing was ever handed to us. Everything was earned. They taught us the value of hard work and discipline, without ever losing sight of our dreams.

By eleven, I had my first job. I was teaching little kids how to figure skate to pay for my own lessons on ice. I was always the first kid on the ice and the last one off— because I valued every moment of that precious time. Other kids would sit and chat as the clock ticked on and I would be practicing, practicing, practicing. Nothing was ever taken for granted, not in our home.

By fifteen, I was financially independent and had left home to be on my own. I rented out a 3-bedroom apartment for 650 and sub−leased out two rooms for650 and sub−leased out two rooms for 400  each. I was in my first of four years of biomedical studies and held three full-time jobs on the side.

I started travelling that year, to teach debate around the world, with master coaches in Asia and North America. I would wake up at 5 AM, start teaching at 7 AM, and end the day around 11 PM. Go home, prep lessons, start again. Monday through Sunday. Weeklong workshops. In one city, then the next, then the next.

I've had so many careers over the past ten years. Collecting pieces of a puzzle that only make sense when you look back at how it happened. But it instilled in me this curious sense of possibility— of a, "I can be anyone, I believe in me."

Mama says that belief is the most important thing.

***

Hell, I moved to Philadelphia this year and now I'm making intentional jewelry. I've had enough business to make a mala a day and it's been an incredibly heart-kindling journey. A year ago I was leading yoga teacher trainings and retreats in Maui, Canada and Bali. Before that. Ayahuasca ceremonies in Costa Rica. Producing talent shows in Prince George. Teaching tantra at hippie festivals. Teaching piano to little Mozarts. Design and marketing for the coolest charities. And so. many. more. pieces. It's all been a whirlwind that's led up to now.

***

No moment of my life has ever been wasted. There's not a thing that I would change. And I'm proud of the fact that I've never been scared to listen to my heart and follow wild dreams.

***

Right now. Sitting in our beautiful riverfront home. Watching the sun ripple across the water. Surrounded by crystals and flowers and gems.

This morning, I woke up with the sunrise again to design these starter threads for my upcoming mala ceremony. 
An intimate group of sisters gathering together. 
No matter what it is. No matter what I do. 
The right people— they always come.

I am beading. Bear works close by me. 
Every so often he comes over to kiss me.

***

I'm laughing because I've never so much realized how much of my parents are in me. How deeply they've influenced my life and my being and the way I see and perceive all things. And with less than three months till I meet my little one, I wonder every day who Baby will be.

I feel so lucky to bring Baby into a home filled with love and laughter and care. I've waited my whole life to meet this little soul and I feel as ready as I'll ever be. I've been thinking a lot about parenting lately, about how my own parents raised me. And they taught me the most through who they were— through the lives they lived, the people they became. Through the way they always prioritized the things that really mattered. Us. The family. The love. The discipline. The work. The play. The adventure.

***

The days till Baby are flying by and everything just feels really right. The way it feels when we're living aligned to what spirit has asked of us. Nothing is perfect and yet everything is and my wee heart is full of joy. To be living in this moment. To experience this journey. To be sharing it with my most beloved. Everything is simple and everything is sweet. And I trust, again, in the magic of it all. 💫