Your Asian mom

Yesterday, I met an acquaintance I hadn’t seen in a while — someone many people know for her ongoing appeals for donations to support her sick child. Her story has always been a deeply emotional one. From the very beginning, she was told by doctors that her child might not survive. Yet, she and her partner chose to go ahead with the pregnancy. Against the odds, the child lived — a miracle , many would say. But the journey since then has been far from easy, marked by recurring complications, constant medical care, and of course, mounting financial costs. Over the years, I have often wondered about the decisions she made. She once had a well-paying job, yet chose to leave it for a much lower-paying one. She also left a financially stable marriage for a partner with uncertain income . With her qualifications, I always thought she could have returned to a more stable career instead of relying on public donations . But life is rarely that simple. There are always stories behind choices tha...

People often ask me, sometimes with genuine curiosity and sometimes with disbelief, how I’ve managed to maintain my body the way it was years ago. I hear things like, “You must have good genes ,” or “You’re just naturally like that.” The truth? That would be a lie. There is nothing effortless about it. My body, like anyone else’s, is capable of gaining weight, losing firmness, and showing signs of ageing. My face, my skin, my shape — none of it is immune to time. What you see today is not luck or magic. It is the result of years of discipline , sacrifice, and showing up even when I don’t feel like it. Most mornings, I wake up at 5am — not because I’m naturally energetic, but because I force myself to. I rarely get a full eight hours of sleep. The air is cold, my body feels heavy, and my mind constantly whispers, “Just stay in bed.” And sometimes, I think about how others are still asleep, wrapped in warm blankets, lost in comfortable dreams… while I’m outside, pushing my body to run. ...