Growing up as an Asian in the UK, mental health was never spoken of at home and only started to gain public awareness when I reached university where social media AND fitness boomed. Over the years I’ve been labelled as a fitness influencer - it wasn’t something I intended to get myself into and most definitely wasn’t the ideal my Chinese madre wanted. My account started the same time the social media fitness scene picked up and the trend was far different then 😂 #fitnessmotivation #fitspo back then was running on styles of kayla itsines and fitness content was unheard of. The cycle of losing weight and Instagram engagement 🔁 only reinforced 21year old me to keep driving for a particular look - it’s a weird mind I lived in, and although no one verbally told me to stay slim, the interest people showed made me believe it’s a must, because quoting “she doesn’t look like she’s into fitness” made me believe there was an ideal figure to enjoy exercising (even to this day where the fitness scene is evolving, it’s still a battle). Something about females - our figure is always the first thing to be picked up on! Time went on: cycles, external influences and social expectations blew my mental health in a poor direction - and at my lowest of battling body image I remember reaching out to a family member on this and as an Asian I was shut down with: “study hard, work hard, nothing else should matter” it wasn’t debatable and was a really hard pill to swallow. But I look back and understand the lack of empathy because we differ in generations, exposure and priorities - their worry is winning on candy crush😂 Anyhow, being an influencer often comes with negative connotations.... [cont. comments]

🎶 While you live, shine have no grief at all, life exists only for a short while and time demands its toll 🎶 - The Oldest Song in the World From Ancient Greece. “The oldest known complete musical composition, albeit a short one, is from Ancient Greece. The Seikilos epitaph, in this case, a song carved on a tombstone, can still be played today, almost like the ancient Greeks did when it was first written. The epitaph, discovered in 1883 near Aydin, Turkey, seems to be from the first century AD; however, the exact date of the inscription is still debatable. Now on display at the National Museum of Denmark, historians believe Seikilos dedicated the song to his wife Euterpe, although the muse of music was also known as Euterpe.” - theculturetrip.com Want to hear it? 👇🏻 🎶 https://youtu.be/mGfOHoun0OQ #ADashOfSash💋 #CommittedToTheCelopians #DiaryOfADevotedDomesticatedDabawi #TheElusiveFairytaleOfTheHalfBloodPrincessSayang

Not the beat rice roll I ever have but definitely a must try while visiting Richmond public market. The texture of the rice roll is a non debatable, but I don’t really the meat topic choice here, or am I choosing wrong again 🥲? Anyway, if you have any intention to get full with this only, make sure you order 2 portions (or more). P/s: a small comparison to Vietnamese rice roll or Banh cuon, this is definitely not as good as our original Vietnamese dish. For me, there is barely no difference in the thinness and taste of the rice roll, but the topping choice is the one that hits differently. Vietnamese rice roll core value is in the mix of mushrooms, minced pork, and the wood ear mushroom evenly distributed in the roll, and dipped in thick sweet fish sauce. And for this Chinese version of rice roll, the minced pork still has quite big size and seasoned with sugar I think.. but the overall taste is addictive. So this is a small win for me with this choice. And this rice roll is from Hei Hei Rice roll, price fluctuates from $5-12 each