Her name:
My parents decided that a good Chinese name for me would be one that means ‘quiet person’.*
And thus, from my first day on this noisy earth, I was doomed to be drowned out by those with bigger voices.
This may be a bold submission, but I think that too often, quiet is equated with stupid – if she’s not saying anything, she must have nothing to say, right?
w r o n g !
Little did all those chatterboxes realise that while my mouth was quiet, my mind was loud and thinking, overthinking, thinking about overthinking…
So I’ve finally made a place where I can, theoretically, think to the whole world, without having to wait for someone else to shout on my behalf to quieten everyone else down enough for me to be heard.
*(It can also be translated as ‘peaceful person’, which is nicer, but has less comedic effect)
Her person:
I’m a 23 year old woman from the UK, and my family are from Hong Kong, making me a proud and slightly confused member of the British Chinese diaspora.
My passions are mental health, human rights, music, books, art, ballet, nature and, most importantly, dogs – mainly my own, who is a very fluffy and very spoilt little cavapoo.
Her thoughts:
I write personal essays on mental health, as honestly and kindly as I can. The conversation on mental health is so often full of cliches, coopted by companies and TV shows to sell us drama and magic fixes. I aim to cut through all the crap and show people the reality of my mental illness (with the understanding that this is only my personal experience and that everyone’s realities are different), but importantly, also emphasising the lessons I’ve learnt.
I try to write at a slight distance from the things I’ve gone through, so I’m not oversharing about something I’m struggling in the middle of. I want to share once I’ve had time to reflect, and can show that things get better.
I hope that by doing this, I can offer hope to those feeling hopeless, and a new way to understand for those who don’t.
However you’re feeling, thank you so much for visiting my blog – it honestly means the world! I absolutely love connecting with people on here, so please please leave a comment and a link to your own writing if you have any – quiet person loves to hear other people’s thoughts too 🙂
A little note on her photos
All the photos on here are mine! I’m so sick of all those images of a silhouette crying at a rainy mirror which come with articles on depression, so have included some (in my opinion) slightly nicer and more positive pictures 🙂
quiet person, loud thoughts 