As an introvert growing up in a very traditional Asian middle-class household, it is fair to say my self-care for my mental health was non-existent, and my upbringing left me no room to express myself, and a way to release all the negativity pent-up inside. So long story short, poetry offers me a means to make known my feelings to others (or myself) without actually having to speak. It was a stroke of luck that my professor at the university admired my work enough to encourage me to apply for the scholarship, and offered me his help and insight when I found myself struggling to project the imageries I had in mind.

To this day, I wield poetry like the knife that stabbed into my heart countless times—words hurt not because of how blunt they are; words draw pictures in your mind and remind you of the pain you once felt. So abandon all hope, ye who enter here, embrace the turmoil of chaotic emotions, and indulge in the sweetness of pain.