I was born and raised in a city that people longingly refer to as the Venice of the East. At the dawn of my birth, my grandfather gifted me miáo 苗 (sprout; a combination of wood and earth elements) and yè 烨 (shining brightly; a suggestion of fire), to balance out the water in our surroundings.

I grew up aspiring to be a writer of poetry and fiction. In my childhood fantasy, I'd stay tucked away in a forever home in the Chinese countryside, weaving metaphors and narratives the same way my ancestors braided cotton and linen. 烟火人间，家常便饭; a life of slowness and ease.

How did I end up here then? Traversing borders, floating in the ether, speaking the colonizers' language; the syllables of my mother tongue had long lost their nuances and fullness. Chance, whims, stubbornness... I will not bore you with the details. What matters is I inadvertantly became mired in technology and built a life around it.

You can find me at the following places, metabolizing what I consume and experience: are.na↗︎ instagram↗︎ letterboxd↗︎

If you love me, would you make me your muse?↗︎

Last updated October 4, 2023 🍃 Fall is descending in Brooklyn, NY.