MY STORY.

When I was younger, my friends would come over and discover our DVD collection showcasing dozens of eerie thrillers, zombie, and slasher flicks. I wondered why some of them never returned.  

My mother was the instigator of this wholesome family tradition. She never had the patience for cartoons, while other genres like dramas and rom-coms were too close to reality for her. Even to this day, she nonchalantly slices apples in the kitchen as she watches Freddy Krueger slit throats on her iPad.

Unsurprisingly, all the blood, gore, and sleepless nights made me the person I am. I usually think twice before going to cabins in the woods with friends. But also, I managed to develop a secret talent of accurately predicting all horror movie endings. Through my understanding of the genre’s formula for success, I’ve found that there’s always a ‘final girl’ who survives at the end. Always a suspenseful silence before a heart-stopping jump scare. And always an infuriating act of stupidity from some type-A overconfident supporting character.

As I refined my horror palate, I realized that even in my own life, I felt like I was constantly on the run. Growing up, I moved around from Texas to Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia — having to start over, over and over. Luckily, as a copywriter, all of these lessons have taught me to never settle on my first idea and to truly appreciate the unexpected.

For now, I’m doing my thing in the city of dreams. Wait, is that LA? Well, I’m in New York. I guess we’ll see if I make it …out alive.