Personal Stories

At the end of 2022, I made a promise to myself that would create an immense anxiety within me for the following years. I had a weird relationship with this promise; I loved it so much, but I also hated it with my whole heart. This promise was to exercise more in the following year, a normal and widely accepted New Year's resolution. But that wasn't truly my resolution. I wanted to become skinnier. That was my goal for the new year. And with that, I was going to do whatever it

Tan Laoshi slapped my trembling thigh, my knee automatically straightening on the ballet barre. I could feel droplets of sweat cascading down my neck and back as her scrutiny pierced straight through my skin. My breath hitched when my new dance instructor pivoted closer, her eyes swimming with judgement. She opened her mouth, and: “看来你寒假期间吃得有点太多了。” It seems that you’ve eaten a bit too much this winter break. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to take a pair of scissor

In my mind, secrets were never kept. Everyone all around me knew every aspect of my life, everything that upset me or every mistake that...