I hope you’ll sit down with me a bit because this year is so personal for me. I turn 40 this year. And I’m more excited about this birthday than any birthday before it. You might be wondering why.
Personal
Living with Lupus
I’ve had different health challenges for as long as I can remember. When I got into college and really had to manage my own health care, things took a turn for the worse. That would be the start of what would turn out to be a very long journey trying to find a medical professional who would listen to me, my symptoms and take it all seriously. 7 years later, with a whole lot of symptoms and a compromised quality of life, I was finally properly diagnosed.
My Top 10 Tips for Traveling with Lupus
I was diagnosed with lupus after many years of being misdiagnosed (or just plum ignored). Since that diagnosis, I’ve traveled the world. It hasn’t always been easy, but I’ve found ways that make it easier for me.
The Intersection of Multiple Identities
For most of my adult life, I have called myself “half Asian/half white”. It felt like the most accurate depiction of “what I am”. Obviously, that’s ridiculous, and my exact genetic makeup couldn’t possibly represent me as a whole human being, but I think it was so important to say this because my Asian identity was erased from my being all throughout my childhood.
This Is Travel
The first picture you see is probably the one most people have seen from my 2019/2020 trip to Iceland. Stunning landscape, my bright green hair, and witchy attire. But that photo doesn’t represent my best memories of that trip. It doesn’t give you the real picture of what that trip was like.