I want my child to learn Vietnamese, but I also want to protect him from the emotional bruises my parents dealt me. I want to pass on the language, but without passing on the trauma. I have to both learn and normalize a version of everyday Tiếng Việt that can communicate tenderness, love, and rich emotions.
Category: Live better
Your world and the world at-large are better off when you are at your best. When you’re joyful, well-rested, energetic, living in abundance, feeling in charge of your life, and functioning at your best, you bring the best version of yourself to every interaction and every task. This is why self-care is crucial.
This is a summary of Marie Kondo’s bestselling book, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up, for those who want compelling reasons and guidance to declutter. Let’s start with why it’s important to tidy, then if those reasons compel you to declutter, you can find the how-to in the second half of this article.
Main point: Hoarding is a trauma response. Letting go of your physical baggage helps you heal emotionally. The purpose of this article is to bring to your awareness what drives hoarding behavior, to help you recognize it as a symptom of historical trauma, and to offer affirmations to help you release unwanted baggage.
Key takeaway: Serial tardiness is not a character flaw or a time management problem. It’s an energy management problem. Let’s get real: you’re late because deep in your heart you don’t want to show up at all. It’s not that you didn’t manage your time. It’s that you didn’t manage your energy and therefore had none left.
Growing up in the United States, my Vietnamese history is ignored or misrepresented. The perspectives and stories of refugees – and of people of color in general – are not taught in school or documented in popular media. I want to break those stereotypes, encourage critical thinking, and spark constructive discussion through the FOBLOG.