Since my last email I have...

(because a regular cadence is clearly not a realistic expectation lol)

• Presented my master's thesis, submitted it for publication, and got it sent out for review
• Finished crucible semester with a 4.0 GPA (SURELY IT GETS SIMPLER FROM HERE?????? spoiler alert...keep reading lmao)
• Subbed at L's school a couple times, including field day because I have a complex about being an involved mother, don't worry about it, hey at least I got paid
• Gone on 4 dates with 2 people and subsequently sworn off dating for the summer (FOR REAL THIS TIME)
• Started my summer rotation in cancer and prenatal genetic counseling
• Possibly overstacked my hobbies with a pottery wheel class, paddleboarding, and forthcoming writing class (completely unprecedented, I know)
• Added about 2,000 words to my manuscript!
• Kinda sorta started a business​

This week was my first getting more involved in cases at my rotation, as well as my first time touching a potter's wheel since last September. In both cases, it was simultaneously frustrating and liberating to feel like a beginner again. New supervisors, new patient population (HELLO, Catholic hospital in Kentucky, cool reproductive healthcare options y'all got here), and new clinic setup all add up to feeling a lot more wobbly than I anticipated. But it's also a fantastic opportunity to learn and adapt.

Getting back on the potter's wheel was a gentle but undeniable reminder to get out of my very busy brain and into my body. My highly skilled instructor told us at the beginning of class that throwing on the wheel should not hurt. After about an hour, I flagged that my wrists were already sore and asked for advice. He watched my throwing form and (nicely) pointed out that my entire hand was tense from trying to control the clay rather than letting the clay form itself against my leveraged body weight. So I'll spend the next 6 weeks learning to fucking relax lol

What I'm Reading

Let's be friends on Storygraph, the non-Amazon version of Goodreads that comes WITH CHARTS ABOUT BOOKS!

• Permission to Come Home, Jenny Wang, PhD is a crucial resource for the rapidly growing community of Asian Americans, immigrants, and other minorities and marginalized people to practice mental and emotional self-care. Moreover, it helps readers to work on their mental health while understanding and honoring the richness of their heritage and embodying a new, complete, and whole identity. (description from Storygraph)
• My thoughts so far: I started this book last summer and did not have the bandwidth to absorb it properly. (Shocker, I know.) I'm happy to be revisiting it now, as the uniquely Asian American perspective on mental health and self-care are not something I've encountered a lot.

Acknowledgements

I'm drafting the acknowledgements section of my book little by little every week.

Thanks to Progressive Asian American Christians for the wildly generous scholarship and shared housing that will allow me to attend the national gathering in July. I cannot wait to FINALLY meet the Internet friends who have shaped my identity so strongly.