Category: Personal
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It’s Funny the Things You Remember
I didn’t expect that in five days my family’s world would be completely shaken. That we would have to navigate grief in a pandemic, where the air already feels so saturated with a similar sadness.
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Let’s Talk, For Real
From running to the ER from my apartment one morning where I couldn’t stop crying to the nurses on duty; to waking up at 2 am in the Dominican where I crawled into my parents’ hotel room so I could feel some comfort as I curled up against my mother; to crying many nights to…
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There Are Some Things You’ll Never Forget
Sometimes, by the time you turn 25, you’ll remember the strong smell of hand sanitizer, the texture of the surgical mask against your nose as you try so hard to fight back the tears and gasps.
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From the Bottom
“If you want to be a good writer, you have to know what the bottom looks like,” my godfather told me as he lifted his beer bottle to his lips. Rain was pounding down outside, the humidity disappearing with the strong blast of the A/C. I looked him in the eye and nodded, because after…
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Make Your Mark
My paternal grandfather travelled to France once, and my paternal grandmother to Japan. My maternal grandmother saw Hong Kong and Singapore. And my mother has seen Japan and China and most of the USA. It’s one reason I’m not surprised that this wanderlusting has been etched into my skin and blood…
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The Filipino Who Couldn’t Speak Tagalog
I can’t speak Tagalog. When I first moved to Canada it only took me three weeks to drop my mother tongue, and adopt English as my own. My parents never corrected me.
what a jem 