My Origin Story
“Being born and raised Canadian meant that I had the privilege and freedom to make my own choices.”
My parents were born in Malaysia and Indonesia but our heritage is Chinese and my childhood was deeply rooted in those traditions. Growing up, I was an extremely shy and introverted child by nature. This was further reinforced with always being told not to draw attention to yourself and to blend in as much as possible. Standing out was seen as a discouraged selfish behavior. Because of that I learned to be under the radar and to avoid situations that would put me into the spotlight. It was a way of life that felt safe and familiar, but it also limited me in ways I didn’t fully understand as a child.
That courage to embrace change is what ultimately led me to pursue Interior Design. In my mid twenties, after working in Finance for a few years, I made the decision to go back to school. I was bored and could not shake the feeling of dissatisfaction with my career and life. So I made the unexpected decision to go back to school, leaving a stable path for a creative one. My parents were a bit horrified and didn’t understand why I would leave a stable job; in their world once you find a stable job you stay until you retire. But being born and raised Canadian meant that I had the privilege and freedom to make the change.
However, I quickly learned that passion was not enough to make things easy. I’ve always believed that some people are born with natural talent, while others develop their skills through hard work and determination. For me, Design School wasn’t an effortless journey. I lacked the instinctive, out-of-the-box thinking that seemed to come naturally to some of my peers. I worked relentlessly to hone my skills, study harder, and push past the doubts. Nearly two decades later, as an accomplished Interior Designer, I can confidently say that talent, whether natural or learned, can lead to greatness if you’re willing to put in the effort. Hard work, persistence and a true desire to improve have shaped who I am today.
Looking back, there have been countless professional achievements along the way; some of the ones that come to mind are starting an Interior Design company with my longtime schoolmate and bestie from design school. A lot of the “firsts” that came as a result of that. The first time we were published in a magazine both locally and internationally; the first time we saw a big poster, cutout of us at an event; the first time winning a professional award for our work! Each one of these moments was a celebration and payoff for the hard work. The biggest personal victory was when I accepted a speaking engagement at a seminar. Standing in front of an audience and sharing my thoughts felt like an impossible task, yet I did it and most importantly, I survived it! These milestones have all been incredible, but they’re not the end of the story. I still have goals, dreams and a fire to keep growing.
And while the quiet, careful girl I once was still lives somewhere inside me, I now choose to stand in the spotlight when it matters and to take up space in the life I’ve built.
