HEY LOU

And I fell from the pedestal

Right down the rabbit hole

Long story short, it was a bad time 

Pushed from the precipice 

Climbed right back up the cliff

Long story short, I survived

- Taylor Swift (Long Story Short)

Those around me know me for my entrepreneurial spirit. Entrepreneurship these days has such a negative connotation though. I don't think it's perceived as hardwork and the brave taking the road less travelled anymore. It's now seen as the cop out to a 9-5 job. Entrepreneurs are those who are unrealistic dreamers and want to get rich quick. 

STORYTELLER

"It's important that we share our experiences with other people. 

Your story will heal you, and your story will heal somebody else. 

When you tell your story you free yourself, 

and you give other people permission

 to acknowledge their story as well."

 - Iyanla Vanzant

Currently I am reading 'Talking to Strangers' by Malcolm Gladwell and a few lines stood out for me. First: "Today we are now thrown into contact all the time with people whose assumptions, perspectives, and backgrounds are different from our own." Second: "If we were more thoughtful as a society - if we were willing to engage in some soul-searching about how we approach and make sense of strangers - she would not have ended up dead in a Texas jail cell." And third: "If I can convince you of one thing in this book, let it be this: Strangers are not easy."

OBSESSION

"You could be anyone if you put in the time. You will reach the top. 

And that's that. I'm not talented, I'm obsessed."

- Conor McGregor

The last few hours of the 2010s decade and I managed to squeeze one last photoshoot and blog post in - making this year's total of 5 published posts. Poor effort - I know. Hopefully in 2020 I can devote myself to doing more of this because this didn't even take that long. 15 minutes of makeup and 15 minutes of shooting. The post-editing was the most time-consuming part but that is also my favourite part of the process. 

This new decade scares me, in the most exhilarating way possible. Because I'm now 25 and this decade is where A LOT will happen. Hopefully get married, have children and create an amazing business (or two, or three)... 

ROMANTICISATION

"Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me. 

'Cause we were just kids when we 
fell in love, not knowing what it was..." 

- Ed Sheeren (Perfect)

I love the unusual, the different, the unorthodox but it is a strange dichotomy that I am also a secret die hard romantic for the corny, cheesy stuff. Love is so commercialised these days that often young lovers break hearts in the search for something of silver screen dreams. When the infatuation dies off, you go off searching for a new high thinking something is wrong with what you had. But honey, nothing was wrong with what you had, what was wrong was you.

HALO

halo effect 

/ˈheɪləʊ/ ɪˈfɛkt/

The tendency for an impression created in one area to

 influence opinion in another area.

I complained during the early-mid year of 2016 that this was one of the worst years I've ever gone through... only because I had such great expectations for it. It started so well, filled with so much potential, only to fall apart. My mind was so focused with the failures that I almost completely overlooked my accomplishments and my blessings. The negative halo effect, negativity in one small area and it cast a negative shade over everything else.

BEACH BOMBSHELL

"You know you're hooked on fitness when 
taking a rest day takes more discipline
 than working out!"

The sizzling 'Australian Summer' is arriving, so how could I resist not devoting at least one editorial to what makes Australia, well, Australia. With the most amazing beaches, it makes all the sense to share it with you whilst also inspiring you to get active and stay fit. Bringing you the carefree Australian babe vibe with salt water hair, sun-kissed skin and sandy toned toned bods (yes that's a deliberate repeated word of 'toned' to emphasise this fortnight's article). Despite the title, I do not proclaim myself to be a bombshell, oh hell no. I don't think my under-aged Asian features can exude the amount of sexiness required to claim such a title. 'Bombshell' just looked good next to the word 'beach' because of 'shell'. Yeah, that's my simple random mind for ya! I just don't think sexy works for a girl without curves like me, when my upper body is as flat as a plank. But don't worry, I still love myself just as I am. And you should too, the best possible version of yourself that is.

LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE

"The one thing she wants me to do is to marry someone

 who loves me more than I love him, because a woman will always give

 even more than they need to... we're selfless beings, it's maternal.

 Even with her husband she said it will be that way with them as well... 

They will only meet you half way if they love you a little more." 

- Rihanna

My father has always told me this: "Find someone who loves you more than you love him". And I didn't understand it at the time, even now I'm not sure if I have fully understood it. It sounded selfish, if not selfish, it sounded miserable... Why would I want to be with someone who I didn't love as much as I could love someone else? Wouldn't I be happier if I was with someone I truly loved to the deepest of my capabilities? I think the most important part about this is the advice came from my father, not my mother, so for a male figure to tell me that I should find a man that loves me more than I love them... that's something...

SPECTRUMS OF RED

“Red is such an interesting color to correlate with emotion, 

because it’s on both ends of the spectrum. On one end you have
 happiness, falling in love, infatuation with someone, passion, 
all that. On the other end, you’ve got obsession, jealousy, 
danger, fear, anger and frustration.”

- Taylor Swift

In this world there are three types of people: (1) those who date for fun, (2) those who don't waste time dating unless they see some future value in them, and (3) those who don't date but only have sexual encounters.

If you are the small proportion of the population who is like me, who fall under the second category, the world is a jungle. The third category of people are easy to avoid, their intentions loud and clear, and for that I have much respect. They know their time is valuable and they know what they want, that is something the second and third categories share in common. It is the first category of people that you are prey to.

RENEGADE

"We're riding through the dark night...

Don't say a word while we dance with the devil

You brought a fire to a world so cold...

We're running all the red lights down

No way that we can stop..."

- Duke Dumont (Ocean Drive)

You will never know where it will take you unless you give it a chance and open your heart to new experiences. There is nothing worse than 'what if'. Leave behind the excuse of 'can't, shouldn't, or don't have time to do something'. The most interesting events in my life occurred because I decided to over-commit myself, juggling work, study and social life. Yes, I feared I had over-committed myself and headed my way to failure, but instead it ended up motivating me and made me more efficient. I was living life on the fast lane: learning 10x more, growing 10x quicker, and ultimately 10x closer to success. Because honestly, as the epic quote goes "you have the same number of hours in a day as Beyonce".

GOLD & PROMISES

"I love new years. I love the fact that I'll be leaving a whole

year behind me, no matter if it was good, bad, or average.

I like that kind of closure. I love this feeling of starting 

over again and having a fresh year ahead of me,

 filled with new chances, new experiences." 

There is only one person you can truly rely on at the end of the day, not to criticise those who have stood by your side at times of despair, but the person that is always there time and time again is yourself. There is no harm in investing in those around you too, but never overlook the importance of investing in yourself. If there's one thing I can take with me from 2015 into 2016 and onwards it'll be learning to love others without losing sight of loving oneself.

LIBEROSIS

"We had been trying to be adults since we were 15

When we finally reached 18, nothing changed

It wasn't until we were lying on the bathroom floor

Drunk and high in two different states 

That we realized, Age is just a number

And reality is learning there's no such thing as being an adult

You only grow older, And if you're lucky

Maybe a little wiser."

- Unknown

There's a sense of inexplicable beauty in being born towards the end of the year, because everything just smashes into you all at once. Reflections from being one year older, and then not long Christmas comes crashing at your doorsteps as well, and finally more insane reflections as the fireworks explode into the New Year sky. 

HERSTORY

"Stop worrying that your opportunity will never come,

worry instead that when it comes, you're not ready."
- The Empress of China

'The Empress of China' is a TV series overflowing with female power so it's impossible not to obsess over it, especially since it is the most expensive TV series in Chinese history. Every shot is filled with extravagant jewellery, luxurious costumes and breathtaking scenery. The series is based on 'Wu Ze Tian', the only woman in Chinese history to ever rule as an emperor which is extraordinary female power! The actress portraying this lead role is no other than the producer herself, Fan Bingbing, who has no shortage of influence herself, topping the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in the last 3 consecutive years and recently ranked as the world’s fourth highest-paid film actress over the past 12 months. I was profoundly inspired by this for the current article. Channeling this intensive female power into these photos, you will find it filled with subtle elements of Ancient China: intricate gold pieces and dominant red lips. 

ROMANTIC WARRIOR

"I'm a modern woman in the sense of I take care of myself,

 I'm fiercely independent, and I'm really ambitious.

 Yet I have these old-school thoughts in my mind."

- Eva Mendes 

This one is for them boys, men... males, on behalf of girls, women... females. Whatever you call yourselves. I find it a touchy subject to talk about gender roles publicly because views are somewhat controversial. The conflict is gender roles are generic and people are complex. Yet here I am today risking being publicly attacked to try help some of you boys out, enlighten you (whilst indirectly helping the ladies out). To all those guys out there who are interested in someone, pursuing someone or starting off with someone... Yes I hope you're reading this because you're going to benefit from it. Actually everyone will benefit from this, it's a life lesson about humans. The lesson to take away is don't make assumptions.

Yes it's quite tough in the 21st century with all this feminism going on, females fighting for equal rights, you guys just don't know where you should stand with us. Is she the type to want the man to act traditionally - pay for dinner, drive her around, carry her bags/books? Or does she want him to treat her exactly equal? One of the lessons is there's no point asking her. So here's the breakdown:

THE DRIVE

'Because successful individuals approach success

as a duty, obligation, and responsibility - and even a right!'

- Grant Cardone

The drive for success consists of a persistent powerful passion of commitment. There is a natural disgust that I contain towards the thought of a mediocre life. Yet I cannot fathom how someone can be so committed to something. I have yet to find 'someone' to commit to, as well as a 'career' to commit to. The idea that to become successful, you have to commit to it 100% is easy to comprehend, but nonetheless easier said than done. All my life I've never had to commit to anything except to my family which is not upon choice and thus easy. So then, tell me, how does one commit to something by choice?

THE LAST BLOOM

"A rose can never be a sunflower and a sunflower
can never be a rose. All flowers are beautiful in their own way,

 and that's like women." - Miranda Kerr

Being a late bloomer, I was subject to some bullying. It wasn't excessive, but it need not have been excessive for me to feel hurt and hateful at the time. Being called small and short made me bitter, and that is why I now hold my height as my proudest asset, especially for an Asian. However this is not to say that I in turn judge smaller people. Firstly I understand what it feels like to be physically small and everyone else being so much taller. Secondly, I applaud them for their amazing personalities, in all honesty I have found that smaller people tend to have a greater confidence. God is fair.

WILD NIGHTS

"If you don't do wild things while you're young, 

you'll have nothing to smile about when you're old."

Partied my way into 2015 like no other. This is what happens when you're young, wild, and single... and your parents leave the house all to yourself with permission to party. Take this editorial as a personal invite to tour my home, and a post-invite to my wild wild night. Long live this untamed fire within all of us. Let the New Year be filled with stupid memories to laugh about when you're old.