Laos Diaries

14-page memoir comic recounting a trip to my parents’ home country of Laos, bringing my partner along for the first time - and the funny scenes and reflections that came along with it.

Printed by Glom Press in a limited run, stocked for sale at Chibi & Esme and Sticky Institute.

Poetic Portraits
(Monash Council x RMIT)

Two poems resulting from community workshops where local council participants responded to given prompts. The workshops were facilitated by Lia Hills and Anders Villani.

The poems were published in a physical anthology by RMIT’s Bown Street Press and exhibited around Monash Council alongside professional portraits taken by Jorge de Araujo.

Language to an Immigrant (feature)

“To know who I am, I have to know who Setsutaro Hasegawa is.”

It is sentiments like this that drive home the significance of passing one’s culture on to future generations, especially in light of identity-altering events like immigration. I feel it deeply as a second-generation Asian immigrant in Australia, a daughter of Lao refugees. It is a mission that I am slowly achieving through writing: to know who I am, I have to know who my ancestors are.

The words are spoken by Australian man, Andrew Hasegawa, about his great-grandfather, a Japanese man who immigrated to Australia with simple aspirations that grew into idyllic dreams.

Oceans of Memory

She sits hunched on the edge of a garden bed on Cavill Avenue, carry-on suitcase beside her, head in her hands. The scenery is picturesque: perfectly preened garden, spotless blue sky, sun blazing, the sound of seabirds constant but soothing – at least to any other listener. Inside her head, a storm rages.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The Gold Coast. Schoolies.

How a young Japanese beatboxer showed me the power of a humble hobby

“No beatbox, no life.”

It’s a simple statement and I can’t help but laugh at the hyperbole, yet something about it rings poignant and true.

The more I learn about Japan’s competitive beatbox scene, the more I realise the sense of purpose that a simple hobby can provide in a pandemic-stricken world where many of us are struggling to hold onto our ikigai (reasons to live).

How to Turn Vulnerability into a Superpower

Psych2Go reached out wanting to produce a YouTube video based on one of my blog posts. Working with their inhouse editor, I adapted the post into a voiceover script.