The Fear Beneath the Fear I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately.Not because of one big event,but because of this slow, persistent tension I can’t seem to shake. I just went to get some medical tests.I know I’ll need long-term medication.I also know it probably won’t be subsidized — not in Taiwan, anyway. I don’t know how […]
The Fear Beneath the Fear Read More »
At the beginning of July, I decided to commit to something I’d only dabbled in previously—practicing handstands consistently for an entire month. I’d been intrigued by handstands for nearly two years, thanks to countless Instagram reels filling my feed. But curiosity alone hadn’t translated into real progress. It wasn’t until I consciously decided to dive
30 Days Upside Down: What I Learned from Finally Committing to Handstand Read More »
I hit rock bottom at the dentist. Went in to check a cracked molar. Thought it’d be a quick fix. Instead, the dentist said my front crowns are too old, there’s a visible gap between my real and fake teeth, and my bite is off. The fix? NT$70,000 (AUD $3,500) for the front. NT$26,000 (AUD
Too Late Again? When Midlife Fear Shows Up in the Dentist Chair Read More »
My dad hadn’t joined a protest in 50 years.But on a rainy night in July, he stood beside me on Ketagalan Boulevard — wrapped in a thin yellow raincoat, chanting with thousands in the storm:“大罷免，大成功!” Succeed, the great recall! Two days later, we were out again, not for a festival or family reunion, but to
The Quiet Collapse of a Democracy I Came Back to Protect Read More »
A story about $5 scarves, emotional inheritance, and the sharp moments that wake us up. It was hot. Heavy, humid, sticky July Taipei heat. I was sweating and in my dad’s bedroom trying to photograph some scarves my mum had kept from decades ago, souvenirs from when she used to travel to Europe, back when
Midlife Reinvention Isn’t Always Glamorous. Sometimes It’s $5 Scarves and Regret Read More »
I never paid attention to them before. Too famous. 25 years later, I spent a whole Monday afternoon watching Yellow on loop with tears in my eyes. I was hooked. Here was this barefoot, teenage-looking Brit, walking along a grey beach in a too-big jacket, singing with a kind of shy sincerity: “Look at the
Midlife productivity hack: cry to Coldplay. Read More »
Between me and my parents, there’s a quiet space I chose to stay in. Bronnie Ware, an Australian palliative care nurse, spent years listening to people nearing death. In her book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, she shared what she heard most often: 1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a
What Will I Regret If I Don’t Try Now? Read More »
A few weeks ago, at night.I turned on music and lay down on the mat, in my dad’s living room.It was over 30 degrees. I felt like a hot dumpling in a rice cooker. Not in a dramatic way, just in the quiet way grief shows up.No sobs, just breath.The tension from earlier in the
The Night I Felt Like a Dumpling Read More »
Six months later, I’m building a website — and my hands are shaking after 8 hours of non-stop working. This was supposed to be freedom.So why am I exhausted again? My hands were shaking when I dropped the rice bowl into the dish, shattering it — and the dinner my mum made for me. Just
I quit to escape the computer Read More »
I Thought My Body Was Betraying Me at 47. Turns Out, I Was Just Using the Wrong Map. I watched a 40-something dancer move across the stage like he owned every inch of it—and it made me cry. Not because his technique was flawless. His body wasn’t the typical lean, hyper-flexible form you’d expect in
The Map I Was Missing at 47: How Midlife Rewrites Our Energy, Identity, and Worth Read More »
