About

Hi, I’m Mabel.

I’m a writer, blogger and an introvert.

My mission is to normalise talking about not belonging in a culturally complex world. I empower others to embrace their unique cultural identities and creative passions.

On this blog you’ll find my thoughts about cultural identities, what it means to be Asian in Australia and introversion. This blog is also a space where I share my passion for writing.

I was born in Melbourne, Australia, to Chinese-Malaysian migrant parents. For about a decade, I lived in Malaysia and Singapore, finishing school in Asia. Then I moved back to Melbourne.

Living in and traveling around different countries, I’ve learnt to appreciate diversity. When you interact with people from different backgrounds, you see things from different perspectives.

I believe it takes an open mind to facilitate conversations with people of different cultures. We all have different opinions, different roles and are unique in our own ways. None of us have all the answers to every question. The world and cultures are constantly changing. The least we can do is listen and learn from each other.

Being Asian Australian and an introvert

I often find myself transitioning between an identity favouring Chinese values and one taking on the Australian / Western mindset.

I’ve always felt too Asian or not-Asian enough in countless situations. It didn’t help that I was an introvert growing up and still am. My parents, teachers, colleagues and friends labelled me, ‘too quiet’ and ‘so shy’ while encouraging me to excel at science instead of writing which I loved. I was conditioned to be a model-minority Asian stereotype.

For a long time I felt unimportant, confused about my cross-cultural affiliations and reserved personality, having no direction as a writer. The more I tried being the life of the party and speaking up at every opportunity, the more drained and ‘not enough’ I felt – especially in a predominantly Anglo-Saxon Australia where many are extroverted. Or just loud.

One day I realised the fire within me to write and motivate others through words wasn’t going away. I realised writing to enhance others’ perceptions and personal power gives me a sense of purpose.

I then studied in Cultural Studies at university, focusing on ethnic identity construction and performance through media platforms. While studying, I spent solitary weeks on end honing persuasive writing techniques and applied research expertise – and never felt more comfortable being productive and present in silence and stillness.

Following that I keenly worked in journalism and radio in Melbourne. The likable-outgoing-personality driven industry made me realise that a media career wasn’t for me.

Thereafter I took on freelance writing work and started this blog. Again I thrived working on in solitude, trusting my inner voice and nurturing my subconscious to awaken clarity surrounding my craft. Using writing as a tool to help others reflect and reach their potential, I mentored clients on articulating their online brand, contributed self-help features for publications and built a highly engaged global audience on this blog.

Yarra River. Yarra River. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | Naarm, the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation.Melbourne, Victoria. Australia.

Yarra River. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | Naarm, the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation.

Today I’m a proud introverted creative and embrace both Asian and Western identities. I’m an accomplished writer who still listens before speaking, takes off shoes at home and saves more than I spend. Still a stereotype but also not a stereotype.

Being an introvert caught in-between cultures is often seen as problematic and not normal. It shouldn’t be. Being part of different cultures is a privilege, and introverts are deep thinkers, thoughtful decision-makers and generous friends.

You don’t have to be outspoken all the time to make an impact in the creative sphere or anywhere else. You can be quiet and contemplative and find success and purpose in what you do.

My written work

Guided by introversion and intuition, my aim is to help you negotiate the complexities of cultural identities while cultivating creative passions. Through narrative non-fiction writing, I help you to be confident within your unique identities – rising above limiting cultural beliefs by embracing the power of introversion.

My writing focuses on exploring conflicting cultural identities, the significance of everyday habits and transience within ethnic groups – and highlighting the importance of introversion in an extroverted world. Through my blog and broader work, I encourage you to:

  • Identify and harness both stereotypical and non-stereotypical traits as strengths
  • Gain insights into managing cultural identity crisis and prioritising self-acceptance
  • Acquire ways to have honest, level-headed conversations on culturally sensitive topics
  • Learn strategies to balance being realistic and quietly, confidently pursue creative passions

My interests and other topics I write about include Asian diasporas, media relations and the writing process.

Outside of this blog, I take on freelance writing work. I’m also writing a book about the complexities of belonging. In my spare time I am into astrology, a landscape photographer, read and play video games.

Thanks for reading.

353 thoughts on “About”

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  3. Your blog is quite interesting. I’ve enjoyed browsing and reading some of your work including your ‘About’ page. Thank you for stopping by my art and photography blog and leaving such a nice comment. It’s a plasure to meet you. : )

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    • Thank you very much, Isadora. I’ve always admired others who are into photography and any form of visual art. Each piece is always different with a different story behind it – I enjoy trying to pick the story apart, and sometimes that inspires me to write.

      Glad that we’ve connected and I’m looking forward to seeing more of your work 🙂

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  5. Hi Mabel! I had never stopped before to read your About page and.. what a blast! I like your way of seeing things and I find it really inspiring. Where in China are you from? And how old are you, if I may ask? 🙂 Keep blogging amazing stuff!

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    • Thanks for stopping by, Thatiana. I’m acnts are from Malaysia and I grew up there (and Singatually from Australia, living in Melbourne. My parepore) when I was younger. As for my age, that will remain a mystery…though I’d say a lot of people guess I am young and they are right 😀

      Thank you for your nice words, and hope to see you again!

      Like

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  7. Hi M – love that photo of you with Zelda – my youngest son used to have a Zelda costume and it was his fav character for a long while…
    have a nice day – and oh yea, I like your blog!!!

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    • So nice of you to stop by here, Y. Link from Zelda is such a cool character. One day I’d like to dress up as him. Thank you for reading, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of your blog soon 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      • Have a funny store about the Link costume we made for my son – mind you his was almost 4 and quite tenacious. We had just moved across the country and it was March – he was asking for the Link costume to wear to a chuck-e-cheese party- which they did not sell at that time – also, I had two tubs full of misc. costumes – but no….. had to be Link.

        so we went to a fabric store and piece-mealed it together – I can sew pretty well – but this thing was whipped up with no pattern and in a couple hours – it really was whipped together – he did the belt and tucked in this sword…

        we arrived to chuck-e-cheese that afternoon and right as we walk in – the two greeters (older teens) were like “Hey, look it’s Link.” they high-fived him – and well, it was a success! and so it really was fun to come here and read your passion for Zelda – 🙂 ❤
        oh memory lane

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        • Lol. Had to be Link. Your son was very persistent. Lovely to hear his friends were convinced he was Link – all thanks to you! I bet he looks fondly back at this moment in time 🙂

          I wish I had more time to play Zelda and video games these days. The things you do for what you love.

          Liked by 1 person

          • well I never played Zelda – but I do like a few games from N64 – like Starfox! but not my area for sure. – oh and the teens that recognized him as link were not really friends – cos my son was 4 years old – but when they identified him it was the validation we needed – anyhow, hope u have a great day M 🙂 ❤

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            • You know, Y, it’s never ever too late to play video games 😉 I am sure if your son dressed up as Link today, he will get high fives all round, just like in the good old days 🙂

              Liked by 1 person

              • 🙂 well if I ever get a chance to play Zelda I will come back to this post! and sometimes at b-day parties people will set up all these old systems for the kids to play – and once I played the old 1990’s Donkey Kong game… ha

                Liked by 1 person

  8. Hey! You have very interesting blog and I like it very much! A lot of colorful photos and very clever articles! I’m glad to meet you in my blog too! If you like fashion or music, come! Good luck! And I hope to see you in my blog. -Vlad

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  10. I love the new look of your blog: the header image and the picture here are lovely, very personal, they give the blog a more intimate feel 🙂

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    • Thanks, Mara. Glad you like the new header. Anna (Pinodesk) did a great job of drawing me and brought my vision of the header to life. Credit goes to her 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Hello!
    Before I continue, I should probably warn you that this is probably really off-topic! I’m just a typical high school student from Hong Kong, struggling to pick subjects, etc. for career choices.
    What inspired you to become who (or what you do, for that matter) you are today? Any advice for those (or should I say, me!) who are struggling to pick something out there?
    If you went to university/college, what degree did you go for?

    Love the header by the way! Spent a long time (wayy too long!) staring at the globe, wondering what the place marked as “?” was! (Later figured out it was Australia, as said by the text on the header… you can tell my geography is pretty bad!)

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    • I’m not much of an advice person since I don’t have all the answers in the world. Then again, no one does! When I went to university, I did an arts degree, majoring in Cultural Studies and Applied Maths – two very different fields, yes. My teachers always told me, “Do what you love”. I’ve always loved writing and that makes me happy, so why not do it and that inspires me to blog and write what I write, juggling it alongside a day job. Personally I reckon there’s a fine line between following your dreams and being realistic…but no reason why we can’t have both.

      Thank you for stopping by my blog. I really appreciate it. The header was designed by a talented artist called Pinodesk.

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  12. Mabel, I love your cover image ❤ My friend has experienced severe vulnerary from racism. She has come back to our homeland, I must present your blog to her, it might be great help.

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  13. The header image says a lot about you and your taste.nice to read your blog.keep exploring and writing

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  14. Hi Mabel, You appear to be a smart woman, I enjoyed reading your about page, it was so ‘from the heart’ and I can see you are a positive bright person, interested in life and analytical of your surrounds in a open minded way. I feel so parallel to your thoughts here. I find many Australian men are tied up with stereotypical thoughts of the world around them and as a result they are quite boring to converse with. I like your style and I am interested in different cultures. I find meeting someone new and different is very stimulating and both people can grow. Great work.

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    • Thanks for the nice words, David. A little positivity can go a long way. Each culture – and personality – brings with it their own perspective and we can all learn something with that. So definitely agree with you that we can grow from meeting new people. Thanks for stopping by, appreciate it.

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  15. I love your style of writing Mabel. There is a sense of simplicity and naturalness which makes it very appealing to me. 🙂 Keep up the great work!

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    • Thank you, Uday, for the nice words and the encouragement. Writing has always been my passion. Photography is something I discovered recently. I love your photos and am looking forward to getting inspiration from you 🙂

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  16. I’m an American living in Britain–not as dramatic a mix as yours but eye-opening anyway. It’s given me a sharpened appreciation of what my immigrant grandparents must have faced.

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    • Thanks, Ellen. The States and Britain/UK are certainly two very different continents and I’m sure you’ve seen – and experienced – the best and worst of both worlds. Delighted to have connected.

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  17. Hi Mabel! I truly enjoyed reading your posts on topics – we’re aware of – but rarely talk about. 🙂 As travellers, we’re often asked similar questions (where your from, are you vegetarian etc..) or are placed into a cultural-slot stereotype. Oddly, although the language maybe different, we are asked similar questions when we travel in our home country (India). That’s the flip-side of having travelled or experienced multiple worlds.It opens your mind and makes you a hybrid of what cultural-make-up you might have been exposed to and the cultures you’ve experienced. But, on the outside, people would still prefer to categorize you on the basis of a pre-conceived (comfortable) cultural slot. Popular Media doesn’t help either.
    Look forward to reading more posts! Your writing style is simple, honest, and truly enjoyable to read. It makes difficult topics a lot easier reading. 🙂
    cheers
    Cheryl

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    • It’s interesting to hear you and Basil get asked similar questions like me when you travel. Most of the time, I’m inclined to think people are simply curious about where we’ve been. It starts to get nosy when they ask a lot of personal questions, though 😀 Hybrid cultural make-up, I like how you say it. That is so many of us these days.

      Thanks for your nice words. I love your blog too Gorgeous photos and anecdotes of where you have visited, and I’m looking forward to visiting.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you for the nomination, Leya. You are very kind. I love the whole concept behind this “Premio Dardos” award. Will put a link to your stuff on my Awards page shortly – but first I am looking forward to reading the other blogs you nominated soon. Once again, thank you 🙂

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        • No…no…I don’t think I’m that great – just another girl with a blog. I do find it hard to connect with bloggers. Not only because culture is a sensitive subject, but it’s hard to categorise it. For instance, with travel bloggers there is a whole network about expat/travel sort of networks…and there is my blog on it’s own 😀

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  23. Hi Mabel, You have an interesting blog on diverse topics. Nice to know about you. The sketch of yours with the globe nicely reflects the multicultural aspect of this blog, Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  27. I’m so happy to have stumbled upon your blog. While working on a rap song about taking off one’s shoes, I came across your post on the topic. Forty minutes later, here I am, completely enthralled! As an Asian American (Chinese mother, Caucasian father), I resonate with many of your thoughts on multiculturalism. I can’t wait to read more of your work. 加油！

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    • Ooh also, my website is andihester.com and my YouTube page is youtube.com/andihester in case you’re interested 🙂

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    • Thank you so much for stopping by. I really appreciate it! That is so cool that you are into wrap and all things creative. It takes a lot of courage and determination to do what we do…and I’m sure you understand 😉

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  30. I just stumbled upon your blog, through another blog I am following. Your writing is very interesting. I gre up in Northern Europe, but live in the US. The cultural differences are enormous, and I sometimes misunderstand people because of it. Looking forward to read more of your posts.

    Maria

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  33. So wonderful to know a bit more about you. I recently had a chance to visit Hong Kong and I really loved it there. Once you settle in a city, slowly you start imbibing things from around and that is so important as well to shape our personalities.

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    • Likewise, Parul. It is great connecting with a fellow blogger who likes expressing stories in words.

      So true. Once we have lived in a place for a while, parts of it will become a part of us and will stick with us for a long time to come.

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  34. Hello Mabel, I am enjoying your blog hugely! It’s great to read more about your views on contemporary life. I have never visited Australia so it’s super to look at the country through your lens. I am part of the huge Irish Diaspora so relate to multi-cultural experience.

    Looking forward to reading more from you in 2016. Wishing you a great weekend up ahead and much success with all your exciting endeavours!

    Lita

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    • Thanks so much, Lita. We are all unique, and the differences among us and the different ways which we lead our lives fascinate me. That is an interesting background you have. Speaking of things Irish, last week I started listening to Irish band The Corrs after a while – grew up listening to them 🙂

      It is so great to have connected with another artist, and I hope to get inspired from your work this year. It is awesome that you got featured in some press. Onwards and upwards. Best wishes and good luck.

      Liked by 1 person

      • I love the Corrs. I saw Andrea Corr perform in the play Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel at the London Old Vic a few years back and it was one of the best shows I have seen. Happy Days ahead!

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  35. It was fun reading your about me.. Your name sounds cool.. A multicultural person living in three different countries and finding ways to accept and love what is around them, its sweet. You look so young and your words are so inspiring and nice. As someone who loves playing video games, reading and travelling so much I loved what you are doing here.. I hope to read more of your posts soon… 🙂 Keep writing, its fun to read a blog like yours…

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  36. Hey there! Stumbled across this by googling multiculturalism in Australia whilst I was bored and I have to say, you have a beautiful blog running here – its supremely well written and speaks from (and to) the heart, genuinely heart-warming and inspiring. Suffice to say, I was thoroughly cured of any disinterestedness when I started reading your posts. And from one Asian Australian to another, I find myself identifying a lot with the things you’ve written. I’m rather happy I found this gem (so to speak): it’s given me new insights into my own and my parents’ experiences, forcing me to look at things from a different perspective. And you’ve given me many new perspectives to consider. Thank you :).

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    • Thanks for stopping by, Odyssean. Really appreciate it. There are so many angles to look at multiculturalism from. Being Asian in Australia can present its own challenges but other times, I do think we see things from different perspectives – because we have to, because of those around us a lot of the time.

      At the end of the day, we are our own people whether we choose to stick to stereotypes or not 🙂

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  37. Great post about you and your look at life. I’m an Aussie living in Brisbane, but have through the years spent time living internationally. I so agree with your comment that it takes “…an open mind to facilitate conversations with people of different cultures and ethnicities.”
    I’ve started following your blog and look forward to reading some of your past posts.

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    • Thanks, Kim. Hope you had a good time while you were abroad. We usually come to see things in a different light when we’re in some place unfamiliar, and to get along we certainly have to be open-minded and open up to strangers around us.

      Always good connecting with bloggers in Australia. Looking forward to seeing more of your photography.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Yes, I loved the 15 years I was out of Australia. For some of those years I managed a study abroad dept for a US university – which was great because I was able to help students fulfill the dream of immersing themselves in another culture. Each came back with eyes wide open and a desire to go back out there. Great to connect with you as well. Cheers!

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        • Amazing word you did there in higher education. Sounded like an incredible time, meeting so many people from different backgrounds and seeing them have so much fun abroad. See you around.

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  39. Your site is such a beauty! One of a stand outs from many that i have visited, I love how you set out things so differently, Indeed, beauty lies in simplicity! Looking forward to reading more of your posts, Cheers Buddy! 🙂

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  40. Pleasure to meet you! That is a lovely picture of Melbourne; my family is hoping to visit one of these day. I must also say that, while I don’t necessarily share your love of the other three musical groups, I do love Lindsey Stirling, as she is incredibly talented. 🙂

    I’ll be following along with your blog from now on so I’m really looking forward to reading more from you. Thanks for stopping by my site earlier today; I certainly hope you choose to return…and maybe even follow along? 🙂 Have a nice evening!

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    • Lindsey Stirling is amazing and she inspires me so much. If she can play violin and dance at the same time, well, anything is possible really. Meeting Lindsey is one of the highlights of my life 🙂

      Thank you so much for stopping by. I chucked you a follow and look forward to hearing about you and nursing 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      • Thanks a bunch for deciding to follow along; I’ll try not to disappoint! I’m very glad and happy for you that you had the opportunity to meet someone that inspires you so much. Keep up the excellent writing and I look forward to speaking with you more; pleasure to meet you! Have a nice day! 🙂

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  44. Thanks for visiting my blog recently. It’s funny – just recently I’ve seen your name a bunch of times – I’m sure in connection with Lisa Dorenfest but also maybe Alison and Don, all three of whom are my dear blogging mates! Your blog is wonderfully ambitious (and succeeding at it); I particularly laud your goal of discussing multiculturalism and am also getting a kick out of some of the Asian stereotype posts. My son had a long-time Chinese girlfriend and your info would have been helpful to me at the time!

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    • I love Lisa Dorenfest’s blog and the way she tells her sailing adventures around the world. She does amazing photography too!

      Thank you, you are very kind. I wouldn’t call my blog a success…more something I like to do because writing is what I love doing, and I feel the world needs to be more open when it comes to talking about cultures.

      Liked by 1 person

  48. As someone who dates asians i have to say your blog is very informative and well written!
    Happy to follow!
    Please keep up the awsome work!

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  49. Hello Mabel, thank you for stopping by on my blog and for leaving your thought in a comment for me. I am happy we found each other online, we have so much in common. I love your photos, they are stunning 🙂 I always like reading blogs like your one that are little bit different from the others. You have amazing writing talent. Good luck with your first book. I am looking forward to read all about it when you have it done. 🙂

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    • Thanks for your kind words, Petra. My first love is writing, but photography has a special place in my heart too. I think images help make my words come alive 🙂 It is so nice to have connected with you all over there in Ireland. Looking forward to catching up soon and glad to have connected 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks, Bernadette. Nice to meet you too and glad we’ve connected. I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing more from your part of the world.

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