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When To Hug Someone. And Why Asians Don’t Always Hug
Hugging. Some of us like to be hugged, and some of us don’t. I don’t mind being hugged. Don’t mind giving hugs either. Crushing bear hugs. Soft two-second hugs. Group hugs. One arm hugs. Whether we hug someone or not depends on how we feel about them. And how they feel about us. We hug…
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Why It’s Okay To Eat Alone
I don’t mind eating alone. I don’t mind asking for a “table for one”. But what I do mind is getting grief for dining by myself. My Chinese-Malaysian parents are big on eating meals as a family, which is what many Asian families do. Growing up in Malaysia and Singapore, we ate dinner together almost…
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Why We Travel
Travel. It’s about being on the move. When we were young, maybe we were forced to travel, travel for a better life and a better education. Growing up, I moved quite a bit: Melbourne to Malaysia to Singapore and back to Melbourne. My parents wanted to work in Asia, and so little me was dragged…
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What Is Happiness?
Growing up in a Chinese Malaysian family, I’ve been told studying science, landing an office job and getting married in that order is the road to a happy and fulfilling life. Learning maths at university was dull for me.
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Why It’s Odd And Okay To Be Alone
“Why are you going out alone?” That’s what my mum said when I lived at home and headed out by myself for some “me time” on the weekends. No, it’s not because she’s concerned for my safety. Melbourne is a pretty safe city in broad daylight. Rather, my parents – and many of my friends…
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Why Moving Is Hard
Growing up, I never liked moving cities. When I was a kid, I sobbed at the airport in Malaysia after getting off the plane from Melbourne for the last time in a while, bewildered by strange faces and the sticky air. Touching down at Melbourne Airport years later, jet-lagged me jumped when a Caucasian security…
Mabel Kwong 