Restart. Reset. Refocus. These words show up every time a new chapter begins. But what if beginning again doesn’t mean starting with something? What if this time, we start with nothing ? Nothing to expect. Nothing to fear. Nothing to hide. What if it’s not about erasing the past, but integrating it? So often, we reset through force. Through adrenaline. Through urgency disguised as growth. We chase clarity, rush healing, and tell ourselves "this time will be different"  if we

New year. New beginning. We wish each other another great year ahead, but can we still hold that mindset when things go sour? Someone said it’s a privilege to feel frustrated by the life you once desperately wanted . And indeed, it is  a privilege to stress about dreams that actually came true. Then what? Sometimes that truth, as beautiful as it sounds, still isn’t enough to carry you through the hard days. Especially when the storms feel so much bigger than the bravery it to

This might have been the toughest one for me to share yet. It only took me a few hours to write, but it took me years to even consider whether it was worth sharing at all, and months to reflect on what I would say if I did. Over the last fifteen years, I could barely watch past the first ten seconds of this video, let alone gather the courage to hit play. It brought back too many emotions, so vividly that it felt like everything was happening in real time again. And every tim

Are you sure? Or have you simply learned to judge yourself through someone else’s definition of beauty? Look at yourself again. Not just in the mirror, but in the life you live. Maybe that softer part of your body isn’t a flaw. Maybe it’s warmth. Maybe it’s comfort. Maybe it’s simply human. Maybe that breakout showed up because you’ve been pushing hard and pouring your energy into things that matter. Maybe those dark circles came from nights spent caring, building, surviving,

Reflection breeds wisdom Wisdom breeds clarity Clarity breeds effectiveness Effectiveness breeds momentum Momentum breeds advancement Advancement breeds success  Success breeds influence  Influence breeds empowerment Empowerment breeds self-actualization Self-actualization breeds fulfillment  Fulfillment breeds contentment …and the quiet truth is, when you trace it back, it all began with a single choice: to reflect. ✨

Everything sucks. Everyone is tired. And miserable. And lonely. And somehow all of it keeps finding its way into you, like you’re a public museum of feelings. Free admission. No closing hours. You’re not a sponge. But… you kind of are 🧽 You feel people’s emotions—not just the excitement, but the anxiety, the depression, the quiet cries for help. You see people hopping from one party to another, and something in you knows they’re just searching for another escape. You watch p

To exist is to suffer. To live is to find meaning in suffering. To be content is to embrace the suffering. To be alive is to transform the suffering. To be happy is to overcome one’s own suffering. To be wise is to empathize with other people’s suffering. To be fulfilled is to help others overcome their suffering. To be enlightened is to maintain peace amidst suffering. To evolve is to bloom in crisis—to thrive through suffering. 🤍

It’s logical to think that if we push harder, things are supposed to become easier, right? But life doesn’t really work that way 🤷‍♀️ A kite doesn’t look at birds and complain that it doesn’t have wings. It doesn’t try to flap. It waits for the wind—because it knows that when the wind comes, it’s its  turn to fly. A bat doesn’t fight the sunlight, either. It doesn’t curse the day for being too bright. It rests. It conserves energy. It moves when night arrives—when the world

I love dressing up. And for a while, somehow it became something I felt guilty to show on here. Contrary to what a lot of people may think, I’m very much low-maintenance. I genuinely feel comfortable in my own skin, like I’m ready to go out whenever without styling my hair or putting on makeup. But it doesn’t mean I denied the side of me that also loves mixing and matching outfits, getting my hair done, or wearing a little blink blink jewelry. I love simplicity as much as I l

Many people speak about “growth mindset,” but how many of us actually embody it? Our mind can build a door or a wall, just like it can open a path or shut one down. Free us or trap us. Empower us or destroy us.  Meanwhile, the outer world is loud, distracting, yet deeply convincing. It tells us that crisis means chaos, uncertainty means fear, and struggle means failure.  But the light isn’t waiting at the end of the tunnel as we’re often taught. The light is in our mind. Our

“Did I pass the exam? Or did the exam pass me?” I’ve said this almost every year, but this time it feels different. It didn’t feel like just a difficult test. It felt like a final exam for a whole chapter coming to a close before a new one begins—one of those moments where you know the page is about to turn, and the only way out is through. There was no option but to pass. It’s as if everything hidden and undesirable suddenly rose to the surface, appearing like a typhoon but

It’s a question many of us carry quietly. Sometimes we hide it, sometimes we laugh it off with sarcasm, but we feel it deeply—that longing for a finish line, for a moment where life finally breathes with us instead of against us. We’ve heard comforting sayings like “sau cơn mưa trời lại nắng”  (after rain comes sunshine) or “sau cơn mưa mới thấy cầu vồng”  (after every storm, there is a rainbow). But life doesn’t always follow those clear cycles. Life doesn’t promise. The tre

Who among us hasn’t wondered this? It’s natural to want simplicity. To want straight lines instead of spirals, soft lessons instead of hard ones.  But life isn’t complicated to punish us.  It’s complex because we are complex—layered beings with layered emotions and layered evolution. If everything were simple, we’d never stretch, deepen, or grow into who we’re becoming. And the truth is, the chapters that shaped us were never the simple ones. They were the ones that asked us

In Vietnamese, we have a proverb “Uống nước nhớ nguồn,” which means “When drinking water, remember its source.” Simple words, but they carry generations of wisdom. It’s a gentle reminder to never forget where what sustains us comes from. And somehow… in some miraculous way, I find myself returning to this ancient truth, with lots to reflect on lately and more to share in the days ahead. In a world that moves fast and glorifies what’s new, it’s easy to take the “water” in our

I used to wait for signs… for someone to reassure me, for conditions to feel perfect, for some kind of confirmation that I wasn’t about to make a mistake. But waiting for external validation is its own kind of trap, you know? Because then your life is never really yours. You’re not here to take a passive role. You’re here to evolve. People will always have opinions, and circumstances will always keep changing. Even the most “perfect” condition has its own imperfections. And e

Perhaps not once, but you’ve asked yourself this question more times than you can count. Spoiler alert: it’s not because you’re cursed (of course). But it’s also not only because you’re being tested to see what you’re made of. It’s true—no one builds strength in seasons of comfort. You don’t realize how resilient you are until life stops being gentle on you. Remember back then? The very things that felt unbearable at the time are the same things that formed you. Not by accide

The older I get, the more clearly I feel my root as a Vietnamese woman and the indelible imprint it leaves on me. Our homeland’s history is the work of making and keeping a country, and through every chapter, women have held the line. Beyond the heroines who fought on battlefields were the women at home who did it all—stocking the front with food and medicine, holding families together, raising children alone, cooking, mending, nursing. If something needed doing, they did it.

There’s something so healing about expressing and creating art through our own physical bodies that no machine or AI can replace. Yes, one day, the line between what’s real and what’s artificial might become impossible for human eyes to distinguish (or is it already?) but unless we experience it ourselves, it’s easy to overlook how art doesn’t just heal the audience. It also heals the artist. No one heals by rushing the process or optimizing for the outcome. Healing isn’t a d

I love traveling. There have been many times I wanted to share more about the experiences I’ve had through my travels—but then I paused and asked myself, “Does the world need another travel blogger?” And my answer has always been “no.” By no means is this to downplay the role of travel influencers—I totally get that everyone’s different. It’s more so an answer I have for myself, and the roles I feel genuinely called to embody. Another part of it is that I never want to come

There are moments that need no edits, this is one 🤍 I’ve noticed a strange shift within myself since turning a new age—not in a way that feels uncomfortable, but like moving into calmer waters after years of powering through seasons of storms. What happened on my birthday this year touched me so deeply that I’ll never forget it. Words can’t describe how grateful I am, and this moment during our gratitude ceremony at Etereo made me break into tears afterwards. I didn’t know h

My birthday always arrives around the same time as two markers of history I grew up with: Vietnam’s Independence Day and Labor Day in the...

I hear you. You’ve tried so hard. You’ve done everything you thought you could. And still… nothing. Trust me, I know. In every cell of my...

I hope you know that you’re not alone in this journey. The confidence you see in others isn’t proof that you lack it. It’s a reflection...

No one expects you to win. No one expects you to rise. No one expects you to even make it past the starting line. But what if that’s...