In 2018…

January 1, 2019

I got to see my birthplace, Knoxville, TN. It was the first time that both my dad and I returned there after moving away in 1983. It was an incredibly special father-daughter trip that I will definitely cherish for the rest of my life.

I upped my audition game with Christinna Chauncey.

I got to work with Anna Akana who I had admired from afar for awhile. It was truly one of the best experiences I’ve ever had on a set.

I turned 35! And it was my first time in a long time celebrating my birthday back in Cupertino with my family and longtime best friend.

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Thirty five. 📸: @misstracymusic

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My heart broke. But under imaginary circumstances! And what I mean by this is that I had an INCREDIBLE acting breakthrough while working with Robert Allan Ackerman and The Garage. Miho Ando and I were working on a scene from Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour… and in the scene, I, as the character, truly empathized with my best friend and wept with her.

I said goodbye to LA…

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A slice of life. Isn’t that what all this is about? Sharing our pieces with each other to make one beautiful larger picture? * I tried to journal some of my feelings and emotions last night, but words can’t even fully express what I’m going through right now. Last night was in some ways an unofficial goodbye to LA for me. I moved here in my early 20s, found myself part of amazing communities, relationships, and friendships- And now I’m 5 days away from a brand new journey in NY. With life and everything being so fleeting, I am reminded to live with an open heart and embrace those who really see me. I am TRULY blessed and thankful to know that I’m not alone on this journey ahead and that I have community and family in LA no matter the distance. Thank you to everyone who has ever rooted for me along the way and to those I got to exchange heart to hearts with these last few days as I close a chapter in my life. 💕 * Finally, I am so proud to be part of this community of Asian American activists, artists, storytellers, and just straight up awesome people. You all inspire me. We all have SO MUCH TO SAY. And I am excited to watch how our bigger picture grows. ❤️ * 📷: @michaelsunlee #laapff2018 #myapastory2018

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And I moved to NY! Well. At the time it was only supposed to be for the summer, but deep down in my heart, I knew I was moving. I touched upon it a little bit in my previous entry, but moving to NY was very much for my own personal growth. And so far, I feel like I’ve grown SO MUCH in just a few months.

I got to work with Jim Carrey and Michel Gondry. Two of my artistic heroes.

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On the night of May 10th, I had this crazy heart to heart with an ex-boyfriend’s girlfriend. It stirred up so much inside of me, the next morning while talking to @heyjudylei about it, I referenced Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind because I realized I had been trying to erase my past pain rather than embrace it. That same afternoon (and Judy is my witness), I received an audition appointment for @shokidding- and was like, “What the heck? We were JUST talking about Eternal Sunshine…” Anyway, this audition happened the day before I flew to NY. One week later, I was pinned for the role. Not even a month of being in NY and I got to experience this bicoastal actor life AND work with two of my artistic heroes who never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would get to work with. There’s so much more to this story… But for now, if you tune into Kidding at 10p tonight, you might see a familiar face. 😬 #Kidding #JimCarrey #MichelGondry #EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind #OneOfMyFavoriteFilmsOfAllTime

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When we were blocking and rehearsing this, I was so star struck, I completely froze the first time I had to say my line… I just stared at Jim for a couple of beats, which I’m pretty sure worked for this character. 😂 Anyway, after we wrapped, I mustered up the courage to start a real conversation with Jim. From talking about NY to his paintings, I was also able to tell him how his comedic films got me through a dark time when I was really sick a few years ago (shout out to Asian Jim Carrey @anthonyma for lending me all those DVDs). Jim was incredibly receptive and there were many hugs involved 😭 It was actually hard to say goodbye lol. Anyway, it all felt like a dream… from standing here with both Jim and Michel Gondry to being able to tell Jim what I really wanted to say to him. I floated out of here on cloud nine… 🙌🏼 #Kidding #GodIsGood #MyLifeIsSurreal #IncrediblyThankful #LivingTheDream

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I completed a very intense 6-week summer intensive acting program at Terry Knickerbocker Studio  and was invited into their two year acting conservatory. I accepted.

Staycation premiered at the LA Film Festival. We had so many people come out to support. AND we won a jury award.

My second niece was born! I unfortunately wasn’t there for her birth… but I did get to meet her during Thanksgiving <3

I got to work on another next level Unforgettable Gala where we celebrated an amazing year of achievements within the Asian American community.

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Who needs Red Bull when you have friends who’re like wings? With many sleepless nights editing videos for this year’s #unfo, I’m incredibly thankful to @eileenie1102 for being like life support to me these past two weeks in LA. I’m also thankful for friends like @nickisun and @eliverling who make themselves available to step in wherever needed. 🙏🏼 So much goes into making this event for others to enjoy that it can seriously be a thankless job, so I recognize y’all who put in the WORK! I am so damn proud to be a part of yet another next level Unforgettable Gala (major props to @lindangay and the @koreasianmedia staff). You may or may not be able to tell in these pics because I’ve filtered them so much, but I have had zero sleep in over 40 hours here, so lots of gratitude to @virginiavalverde for making me look alive! 💗 I was hoping to say hi and catch up with more people, but alas, I was quite the delirious zombie, so I’m sorry to have missed a lot of you! Until next year… I’m back in NY! ✌🏼

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Here’s a montage that I cut for the gala (this was screened on a large LED wall thus the weird dimensions):

Anyway, 2018 was pretty awesome. I’m definitely looking forward to 2019. If you’ve actually read all the way to here, I appreciate you. I’m praying blessings over you in this new year! <3