I was looking at all the pictures I have of my adventures from over the years, and realized there are so many memories I have with friends and family that ought to be commemorated.
This first photo was taken several years back. Possibly 2013, or 2014? It was taken by the lovely, Susan Hang, one afternoon when she wanted to do some experimental photography. She actually styled me in this photo — I am wearing one of her dresses and my own Urban Outfitters combat boots. My hair was also really long back then…I’m wondering if maybe I should grow my hair back out. What do you think? And of course, I made a rookie modeling mistake and left my hairties on my wrist, but I think that helps capture the real me in these photos. I can never leave the house if I don’t have a hairtie easily accessible.
This was my first parasailing experience, ever. My best friend, Jackie, had graduated highschool and her parents wanted to treat her to a beach trip, so we went to Myrtle Beach. Once we were there, we were met with a bajillion different activities to do, and of course, the daredevils in us drew us to parasailing. One of the boys on the boat snapped a ton of pictures of us as we sailed close to the clouds. This is my personal favorite. Even though the quality is pretty fuzzy, it’s clear enough to make out the smiles on both our faces. We were probably giggling about something stupid or random. I also remember one of the boys on the boat screaming, “Shark!” as we descended into the ocean. Thanks for freaking us out, dude.
It comes as a surprise to a lot of people who knew me as a youngster (because I was a tom boy,) but I did compete and win a beauty (and brains!) pageant. Back in 2011, I won Miss Asia Carolinas, formerly knows as Miss Asian Festival of the Carolinas. Winning this title actually opened up a lot of doors for me. For starters, I was able to walk the VIP runway with celebs like Ric Flair, Natalie Pasquarella, and Mrs. Asia USA. This fueled my passion for fashion and modeling. Second, it made me realize that I am a lot tougher, braver and more confident than I allowed myself to believe. If my gushing smile doesn’t already explain enough, then let me just say that I was exhilarated in this photo. My life had changed forever and I couldn’t have been more excited.
These were taken with my old school Sony Cybershot from back in the day. As you can see, I was big on floral back then! The left photo is from early high school; I was probably a sophomore, so about 15 years old. The photo on the right was about two years later, when I was a senior in highschool. This was about a year after winning the pageant and I was really trying to practice my modeling. Why did I decide to take the photo in the bathroom? — I have no idea.
I hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane! I’m eager to get to know you guys more, and for you to get to know me better, as well. If you have any questions about anything, drop a comment below. Don’t be shy!
