It’s been nine months since I got married and at the time of my wedding, Covid-19 was still very much a big threat — wearing masks was still being heavily enforced, big gatherings were still widely restricted, and vaccines weren’t anywhere near ready yet.

No one had a single clue of what the future would hold and so, my husband and I did our very best with the information that we had at hand.

Against all odds, we got married. And it was the best day of my life.

We had a small, intimate wedding with only our immediate family…

Father’s Day is right around the corner and on any normal given year, I would be frantically scouring the internet right now searching for the best gift ideas or deals on some sort of electronic or gadget that my sister and I can buy for our Dad. However, this year is not a normal year.

This year isn’t like years past because this will be the very first Father’s Day that we have to experience without our Dad being here to celebrate with us. This year, Father’s Day will be a particularly depressing one.

My Dad has always received the…

I’ve been finding it extremely difficult to explain to people how bad things have been in my life lately — how emotionally, physically, and mentally draining each and every single day has been. After my Dad was diagnosed with cancer in 2020 and then his passing just two months ago, every day has just felt like an uphill battle.

Whenever I get the classic question of, “How are you doing?”, instead of simply listing out every pain point and struggle that’s been going on in my life, I just take a deep breath, put on a forced smile, and say…

The other day, I downloaded an app called “Nextdoor” after I received a letter in the mail from someone in my neighborhood who was encouraging people who recently moved into the area to join. Curious by the somewhat ambiguous invitation, I took a leap of faith and joined.

Feeling a bit like the new kid in class who just transferred schools, I nervously, yet eagerly, introduced myself — I joined a few neighborhood social groups and started up a few conversations with folks who lived nearby. …

As a New Yorker, the motto “If you see something, say something” is one that’s well-known and highly recognized regardless of what borough you live in. It promotes the idea of having unbiased community protection — like you’re a part of larger-scale neighborhood watch. A form of city-wide vigilance one could say.

But, do you ever ask yourself how often that motto is actually exercised by the average New Yorker?

I asked myself the question recently, “what have I personally done to stand up for someone in need?” and when I tried to think of an answer, I drew a…

It’s been a little over a month since my Dad passed away and ever since then, nothing’s felt the same. I’ve asked others countless times how they’re able to move on with life after losing someone they love and the answer is generally always the same — you just do it.

And that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing.

But each day, I still wake up in disbelief that he’s gone, which I suppose makes it a bit easier to cope. However, the disbelief doesn’t get rid of the pain or stop the tears from coming. …

I recently moved to a new neighborhood in Brooklyn a few weeks ago and it’s definitely been an adjustment so far.

I lived in my last apartment for five years, so I became very comfortable and familiar with the people and places in my old neighborhood. And of course, leaving a place that you once called home is always a bittersweet feeling, but I was just excited to be somewhere new.

However, like any new thing, it’s a bit uncomfortable and awkward when you’re first getting settled in. It takes time to fully get to know the area and it…

I recently moved out of an apartment that I had been living in for the past five years. As was I staring at the empty walls and wooden floors of that apartment, I reflected on the past five years and how much has happened in the time that I lived there — how much has changed. Although five years is a relatively short period of time in the grand scheme of things, they were extremely significant, transformative years.

Those five years of my life were the latter half of my twenties and the very beginning of my thirties and I…