If things had gone according to plan, I would have been in
my second year of vet school, not working in a cubicle and writing in my free
time with dreams of publication.
But, life never goes according to plan.
The only member of my family born on U.S. soil, I was
afforded many opportunities that my sisters were not. Education at a young age,
proficiency in English, the ability to adjust to the country, for it was all
that I knew. From a young age I exceled in academics, leadership roles, sports,
and music. With most Asian American families, success equated with professions
in the medical field and sciences.
I didn’t want to disappoint, with a love for animals, I’d
thought I’d be a veterinarian one day.
But there was another side to me. One with a wild imagination,
a need to lose myself in words, and a childish dream to be an author.
Yet, I pushed that aside, making it a goal to attend that
best school for Veterinary Medicine, even if it was just for an undergraduate
degree. University of California, Davis.
But a few things happened along the way. I had a wonderful
Honor’s English teacher my junior year of high school who suggested I apply for
an English major instead. In the end I didn’t. I checked the ‘Animal Biology’
box instead, but her suggestion always stayed with me.
The many years between high school and college had many
twists and turns of realizations, heartbreak, and growth. As a young adult, I
experienced more in a short amount of years than the whole of my life. Deep
down, I always knew I wanted to write YA. This period of life that was so
volatile, so surprising, so full of raw emotion, it was one I’d never forget
and was something I yearned to put on the page.
I finally did what my teacher had suggested four years ago.
I switched my major to English Literature with an Emphasis in Creative Writing.
A year and a half later, I graduated as the commencement speaker of my
graduating class.
Things didn’t go according to plan, but there were clues
that this was the path I’d always meant to take. My love for books. My
journals, now numbering over twenty. Poems that I would scribble into my
science notebooks. And short stories I’d tucked away, never thinking of them
more than passing time.
In my blog you will find me. Posts of my life, posts of
books I’ve read, posts about my writing progress, all contributing to my dreams
of being a YA writer.
Originally from Sacramento, California, I now reside in
Seattle, Washington. In my time here, I’ve participated in Hugo House’s YA
Workshop Course, am a member of SCBWI, and am currently typing away at my
stories while working full-time.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog. I hope you continue
to follow me on my journey as I write, revise, edit, love, laugh, cry, and make
my way through life.
