To my parents:
Thank you for breathing life into me, for giving me the universe - your universe. For teaching me that in spite of having received so much, I must learn to chart my own trajectories and I must live with ambition and the desire to grow. You built a home in a house with a red roof and white walls, you gave me a sturdy shelter and a place with arms always open to welcome me - for that, I cannot stress how blessed and grateful I am. Thank you for letting me craft dreams of my own, while at the same time holding me close to the ground but never chaining me down. Thank you for filling me with sights, sounds and words — all of which have taught me sensitivity, empathy, respect and humility. Thank you for teaching me to grow with a balance of hardness and softness. Realism is necessary but so is idealism, and that vulnerability and emotions should not be equated with shame. I am all that I am today because of you. I am a lover of words because you filled my childhood with trips to the library, bedtime stories and bookshelves filled with pages and pages of wonder. I hold your love within me and I will continue to grow and make you proud. All that you have poured into me, I will give you back more. The drink stall uncle in school once told me "你和家人那么亲是一种幸福", and I will hold his words close.
