Coffee tastings, slowing time, experiencing more versus experiencing deeply — I’ve had two coffee tasting experiences so far, one at a Starbucks in Shenzhen, China, one at a different Starbucks in New York. The first time was because I became friends with a barista there. She was required to practice leading coffee tasting workshops with a customer for an advanced…

The Power of Forgiveness, and How to Wield It Correctly — Once I was in a discussion about a father on trial for the brutal murder of his daughter’s rapist and murderer. The issue was, if the father did commit the crime, whether he deserved to be forgiven by the family of his victim, the man who raped and murdered his…

5 Concrete, actionable steps you can take to improve your writing skills and open doors in the writing world. — If you’re reading this, chances are you’re an aspiring writer, likely not writing in your native tongue, and you’re fascinated by the idea of writing for a living. Maybe you’ve decided on a career in writing, or maybe you just want to push your writing limits and see how far…

International Student Returns Home after Six Years — I’ve been practicing my Chinese handwriting lately. It has become insultingly hideous due to years of neglect. Tracing the prewritten strokes of Old Chinese poems and essays that I’d studied in school. …

10 Days of Remembering: Day 10. — This is part of a series of writings called “10 Days of Remembering.” It is a series of reflective prompts: a question, an idea, a decision, a realization … The things that challenge and change me that I want to remember my days by. I noticed today during my piano…

10 Days of Remembering: Day 9. An essay on Osho, spirituality, creativity, how conscious living naturally leads to money making. — This is part of a series of writings called “10 Days of Remembering.” It is a series of reflective prompts: a question, an idea, a decision, a realization … The things that challenge and change me that I want to remember my days by. …

10 Days of Remembering: Day 8. A note to self. — When I started the 10 Days of Remembering series, my goal was to publish something every day, something that at least one other person would find interesting. Today is day 8; the number 8 in tarot numerology symbolizes action, change, difficulty, achievement. I’ve been struggling with creativity today, the not-so-motivated…

10 Days of Remembering: Day 6. — This morning I woke up early, did many things, went to a few places, and had a heart-to-heart conversation with an important person. It was lovely. This afternoon I ordered thick-cut French fries with honey mustard sauce and fried chicken from a locally famous restaurant, ate all of them with…