The hardest post

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 time… I ended up in tears.

That girl was me.

The one who used to sleep through most of her high school classes and struggled to answer a simple question from classmates: “What do you even do if you’re not studying or having fun?”

I couldn't articulate it at the time. But do you know what she did?

She locked herself in, literally and metaphorically, spent years trying to understand why she felt so much. She wrote blogs, letters, diaries, and songs to calm her nerves. Lyrics spilled onto whatever paper was nearby, even a “hợp đồng lao động” (labor contract) like the one in this video 😅 Sometimes she shared them, but most of the time, if not all, she felt embarrassed.

She might not look like the “ideal role model” you’d imagine for adolescents. Clearly, she struggled. But I do hope we allow children and young adults the time to figure themselves out, normalize being different, and encourage humanity-driven ambitions beyond purely self-serving achievements.

Especially now that we have a generation growing up with no memory of the world before AI, I hope we teach them to tap into their humanness even more.

That girl wasn’t just me.

She is me.

Just as she once felt my guidance carry her through the darkest times, I now feel her healing presence walking beside me as I navigate the complexities of life. She’s been the living proof and the steady inspiration behind everything I share—my trusted partner-in-crime through every season life offers.

She is why I bloom in crisis,

and why I'm driven to help others bloom in crisis, too.

Do you know how I finally knew I was ready to reshare this now?

Because for the very first time…

watching it made me smile 🙂

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🎶

Boom boom boom

Santa Claus has come and gone

He gave me no gift and said 

“Sorry dear, you have to wait till the new year comes to make a wish.”

Boom boom boom

Now it’s coming and I pray

“Bring us luck so we can stay happily ever after with each other in a peaceful world.”

Boom boom boom 

Hopefully someday I will

Receive a reply from him

In which he’ll tell me

“Don’t worry dear, I’m making your wish come true.”