Iβm finally free from the chains of love I felt truly a slave to it Thinking I needed it, thinking I wanted it But the truth is the only person I ever needed was me I never needed anyone else to care for me, to love me itβs always temporary until they leave Today marks my independence day from loveβs heavy and terrible weight Because I am worth more than another fickle soul Who I always become too much for Because I deserve a sense of emotional stability After so many emotional scars caused by love
Iβm used to being the ultimate pushover- allowing the energy of others to pollute my energy and take up my time It was the people pleaser in me who needed to fawn be easy to get along with and always avoiding conflict, Iβd become the person theyβd want me to be, cutting away pieces of my authenticity- Iβd become easy to digest and swallow I never valued myself or put myself first It was learned martyrdom from the women in my family Internalized misogyny sold to me at a young age dressed up as selfless acts of love but Iβm done sacrificing myself for others Itβs time to unlearn this toxic way of loving and being I refuse to pass this down to the next generation of woman who come after me Iβm here to take up space, roar like a lioness and pass down a new legacy of self love that took me 41 years too long to discover
The princess and the queen live within me And they each serve a purpose the princess cares about the men in her life Sheβs soft and submissive, kind and generous Sheβll do anything for love, sheβs loyal But sometimes the princess get taken advantage of And the queen steps in The queen is determined, she is strong and opinionated And ambitchous and bossy Sheβll do anything to protect herself and her kids and gives zero fucks about anyone else And lately I’m trying to find a perfect balance of embracing these two beings who live within me
Some days I canβt deal with the boredom and restless It all leads to chronic feelings of emptiness And I asked myself Is it time for another depression spell? And Iβm annoyed by me, by everything I attend to whatever I think my brain and my soul needs Sometimes itβs music, sometimes itβs sunshine Sometimes itβs writing Sometimes nothing appeases the Gods of BPD And I just to deal with my emotional instability I wish for at least a week of tranquility within Instead of a pendulum of ever changing mood swings When will I finally get calm and peace?
he watches her as she sleeps and the emotions she stirs up in him this was supposed to be a casual agreement where only each otherβs primal needs got met sheβs not easy or convenient she has way too many issues and yet here he is starting to love her
me with my favorites-Olivia Rodrigo, Conan Gray, and Joji
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and I wanted to honor it by sharing my spotify playlist from my favorite Asian American and Pacific Islander Artists. I have a special connection to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders because I grew up in Hawaii. Some of my favorite people are Asian American like my childhood friends and my oldest son. Growing up in Hawaii, I listened to various Asian American and Pacific Islander artists like Iz, Hawaiian Style Band, Fiji, Kai, etc. IΒ had the pleasure of seeingΒ Fiji in a concert in Hawaii in the 90s. Recently, Iβve discovered other artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Conan Gray and Joji.
Β I started listening to Olivia Rodrigo in the summer and fall of 2021. To say that I was obsessed with her music would be the understatement of the year. Alexa still wakes me up with βGood 4 Uβ every morning (I havenβt figured out how to change it to something else-tbh-lol).Β Rodrigoβs debut album βSourβ really resonated with me on every level when I was going through a rough time in my life. Thereβs even hilarious videos of me drunk singing some of these songs (I watch them sometimes if I ever need to laugh-haha). I listened to Sour so many times, two of my sons know the lyrics to βTraitorβ and sometimes for fun, we sing it at Family Karaoke Night.Β
In the fall of 2022, I discovered Conan Gray. Well, itβs more like I became obsessed with his song βPeople Watchingβ and then I listened to the rest of the album βSuperacheβ and every single song resonated with me. Gray songwriting resonates to that angsty and angry side of me that feels so jaded when it comes to love. His songs βFamily Lineβ and βJigsawβ also resonate with me because like him, Iβve also had to deal with my own share of family trauma and feeling kind of an outcast. His personal style is also dramatic and I love that. In a way, heβs inspired to really embrace that side of me that tends to be dramatic. Other songs of his that I became way too obsessed with were βAstronomyβ and βHeatherβ. βHeatherβ also served as inspiration for a long poem I wrote in January. This might beΒ cringe but the video for βHeatherβ even inspired a couple of poses for a couple of pictures. Also, IMHO, Conan Gray is the most beautiful person in the world to me. My kids hate it when I tell them, βyouβre almost as beautiful as Conan Grayβ. They tell me itβs wrong for some reason but itβs the truth. Speaking of my kids, my middle son kind of lowkey hates him. Maybe itβs because either βHeatherβ or βPeople Watchingβ has woken him up one too many times.Idk. My oldest son thinks that my obsession with Conan Gray is just creepy because theyβre both the same age. However, I canβt control what makes my moody heart happy and gets obsessed with. Maybe one day, Iβll find this post cringe and be like wtf was I thinking but let it be a day far, far away into the future. Now letβs move on, to my next obsession, Joji.
Okay, so my oldest son introduced me to Joji sometime in early 2022 with the song βGlimpse of Usβ. I remember telling him, βthis song is too sad, it’s the kind of song thatβs perfect for unaliving yourself β (I know that might seem a bit extreme but that was my gut reaction to the song). Anyways, I didnβt start listening again to Joji until the winter of 2022 when the weather was cold and I was in a low mood. Something about his voice and his songwriting really struck a chord with the angst and sadness I was feeling at the time. Then, I had a major depression episode in January of this year and Joji became the soundtrack to that depression. I remember wearing my beanie every single day because I was too lazy to style my bangs and listening toΒ βDie for Youβ on repeat . Jojiβs music really got me through that episode and in this weird way gave me hope. Of course, I made the choice to go back to therapy during that episode. When I listen to βGlimpse of Usβ and βDie for Youβ I think back to the earlier versions of myself Iβm still trying to find compassion for and make peace with. I know that might sound weird but to me it makes sense. I also love the song, βSanctuaryβ so much so, itβs been an inspiration for a few of my most recent poems. Jojiβs style is also kind of dramatic which I really love.Β
Below is my AAPI Appreciation Playlist, I hope y’all enjoy it. Β
Old insecurities come to visit me again, they shake up my newly acquired confidence they tell me Iβm not smart enough and Iβll never be truly loved They tell me the only thing I have going for me is how sexy I can be Otherwise Iβm a waste of a person because of my bpd And I try to shut it all down and not once again drown Because I have made so much progress and have come so far Only to once again fight an anxiety and depression war but itβs daunting and exhausting not to let the negativity get to me So here I go once again, trying to calm down my brain from negative and intrusive thoughts by covering myself with self-love
Overturning my right to choose feels like a slap to my face it is my american dream of liberty turned into a nightmare of reproductive imprisonment because of my 3 unplanned pregnancies, because of my 4 IUDs birth control pills and a patch because I am a woman scared for my niece, for my future granddaughters scared for the generations of women who come after me and I sit here at a complete loss for words and understanding at a loss for how this could happen a fundamental right ripped from right before our eyes while we were distracted with the modernity of society a fundamental right ripped from us that will take us back to the 1950βs
People say I shouldnβt give up on love and itβs really just my bad luck But how do I explain How love makes me insane Itβs not the men I pick Itβs really me, me, me Iβll become the version they want me to be thinking theyβll stay with me- behave, swallow my words, hide my anger, implode on myself in the privacy of my journal but keep my mask of sweet princess on- but this never last for long something always happens itβs just a matter of when when will I get tired of hiding who I am and start being erratic and crazy When will they get tired of my bullshit and decided to leave and almost always, this ends up as an emotional catastrophe for me so Iβve come up with a solution Iβm going to make my newfound solitude a haven, a sanctuary to fall into give myself as much time as I need to enjoy the gift on my own company understanding that this isnβt an ending but rather a brand new beginning for me to write and edit my own unconventional love story
I wrote this poem in June of 2022 inspired by my youngest son.
me and my youngest in April of this year
At Tae Kwon Do class my son kicks with a determined look on his face Itβs strength and resilience inherited from me and his ancestors Itβs a competitive spirit passed down generation after generation from people that had to fight to compete to survive and it fill me with excitement and pride because even at ten my son shows traits from his ancestral warriors
Happy Mother’s Day! I wrote this poem in April of last year inspired by my sons.
us in May of 2022
finding someone to love used to be a priority until love burned me one too many times besides Iβve always had 3 somebodies to love that always deserved all of my attention with them Iβm never alone with them there will always be inspiration with them my love overflows at this point, it would be useless for anyone to compete with this complete kind of love
Happy international Nurse’s Day to all the nurses and especially my favorite nurse, my sister. We’ve had a complicated relationship through most of my life but within the past few years, our relationship has gotten a lot better. I have more to say about this but that calls for a longer blog post in the future. Today, I want to honor her for being the awesome human being that she is. Below is a picture of us at a concert we went in July of 2022 and a poem I wrote in December of 2021 when she turned 47.
me and my sister in July of 2022
To My Sister On Her 47th birthday
you’re 3 years away 50 but still look like you’re in your 30’s Has anyone told you how amazing you are? Have our parents loved you out loud?
I’ve always admired you for your fortitude and resilience but wish for you to have peace and an opportunity to be soft
I get it though – It is hard to be soft in a society that expects you resemble a tower of strength, where you take care of everyone first and put yourself last It was something you had to learn at a young age
you used to be the Villian in my book at times, but lately I think of you as the victim and the victor_
Youβre a victim of life- the victim because of the pressure you were put under for being the oldest the victim for being a woman of color in a racist and sexist society
But you’re also the victor- the victor never giving up- no matter how fucked up life got for you the victor for facing shit head on without any fucks and with an intimidating confidence (maybe thatβs why I was jealous)
oh sister of mine, on your 47th year-I hope. you get to sit and enjoy the wonderful life youβve created