There is no point in regretting things that don’t matter. — During one of my discussions with an alumna from my university, I asked her a common question that I ask many of my mentors: Is there anything that you wish your past self knew sooner? It’s a useful question because I can learn from the mistakes of others and hopefully…

Put away your screen. Drink some water. Take care of yourself. — Hey there, have you been staring at your screen for a while? I’m sure you’ve been working hard lately. This is a reminder to take care of yourself. Give your body the care needed to support your ambitions. Think of all the places you’ve gone, all the foods you’ve tasted…

Parents are a proxy to the real world. — WHACK! AHHHH! A rowdy child in the swim class I am instructing just chucked a toy boat at a classmate. The kid looks at me, challenging me to step in. With one child wailing and the other fleeing the scene of the crime, I call for some help from another…

What are you doing with the weeks you have left to live? — The popular blog Wait But Why wrote an article called Your Life in Weeks which shows a unique perspective on what life looks like. This grid format is a concise way of visualizing how much life you’ve completed and how much you have left. …

Consistency, habits, stats, and metaphors — This past week, I finally broke the three-figure barrier and reached 100 followers! Thank you to everyone who’s read my work and welcomed me to Medium. I never took Medium seriously until recently. It was a great surprise to me when I read about the new terms of the Partnership…

Not with who someone else is today. — Ah comparison, what a fun self-deprecating activity to participate in. When I was younger, my immigrant, Asian parents often compared me to other kids. They thought it would motivate me to behave the way they wanted if they pointed out the flaws I had that others seemingly did not. Parenting…

Making friends is hard, but living with toxic people is harder — Not everyone who comes into your life is meant to stay. I’ve experienced having no friends, great friends, and a not-so-great friend. I used to go to Vietnamese school on Saturdays. …

If you can treat your dog like a king, you can treat yourself like one too. — My brother adopted a cat during the pandemic. Growing up, we wanted a pet more than anything in the world, but our parents always said no. Well, now that we’re full-fledged adults in our 20s…who still live with their parents, we politely got permission from them to adopt a furry…

Let’s talk small wins. — I wish I could have titled this article differently. Something like Making $1900 From a Medium Article just rolls off the tongue better. Then maybe my bank account would stop crying. But alas, the truth is that my first article posted after deciding to commit to writing consistently on Medium…