Being thankful

One year ago, on Nov. 8, 2006, my first column appeared in this newspaper. I consider that an important milestone in my life.

It has been a wonderful year for me. When I think about and reflect on this past year, my heart is filled with gratitude and thanksgiving.

It has been said, and I really believe it, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” When I am ready to ask, believe and receive, opportunities will come my way.

I am thankful that God gives me the gift and passion to write. Each one of us is born with a certain gift. Some people are good performers, some are good athletes, some are good leaders, and some are good writers. It is our personal responsibility to discover what our God given gift is and what our passion is and then to use it for good.

I am thankful that even though English is not my native language, I have mastered it well enough to write and express myself and, more importantly, I have mustered up enough confidence to share my writing with people I don’t even know.

I know there are people out there who like to write or do something, but are afraid to do it and show it, because they think they are not good enough.

The truth is we can only be good enough and get better if we just do it and practice more every day. Please don’t let self-doubt and fear get in the way of doing what you love to do.

Sometimes I do wonder about whether people read my columns and what they think about them. It feels like I am sending out letters, but have no idea whether they are received and read or lost somewhere and end up in the trash.

Three weeks ago, while I was helping at the annual library book sale, two women recognized me through my name tag and asked me if I was a columnist for the Woodbury Bulletin. One of them said she read my columns every week.

I wished I had asked her some questions and get some face to face feedback.

I regretted that I missed the opportunity. But just that one casual question and the short comment meant a great deal to me. Thank you for letting me know that you do read my columns.

I am also thankful to all the readers of this newspaper, especially those who enjoy reading my columns so much or are so passionate about a topic I write that they take the time to write to me and give me feedback. Your comments and encouragement are very much appreciated.

I read every e-mail I receive and respond to every single message.

I am especially thankful to the individuals who write to me more than once. I can’t tell you how much your appreciation and encouragement have meant to me.

Recently, I received an e-mail from a reader who told me that she enjoyed reading my column topics regarding Chinese cultures.

She thanked me especially for writing the column about Weili Shen and her Acupuncture Woodbury clinic. She had been going to Shen for a few weeks for severe menopause symptoms and the treatment with acupuncture was working wonderfully.

“I wouldn’t have known about her except through your column. I’m recommending her to everyone I know. Thank you so much,” she wrote.

It is very gratifying for me to know that I have helped someone through my writing.

Writing this column in the past year has really been very energizing and rewarding for me. I am thankful in knowing that I can make a difference in someone's life and be an inspiration to someone.

I am very thankful for the Woodbury Bulletin’s managing editor, Bob Eighmy, for his trust in me and giving me the opportunity to write as a columnist for the newspaper. When I approached Bob over a year ago with a brief introduction about myself and asked him if I could write for Woodbury Bulletin on a regular basis, I only had two articles published in the newspaper at that time. He said yes without questioning my background and experience as a writer. I am thankful that he believed in me. Without his trust, I wouldn’t be here today.

I am looking forward to my second year writing for Woodbury Bulletin. I will keep writing what’s on my mind and from my heart to inform you and to inspire you.

May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and may your heart also be filled with gratitude.

[Originally published in Woodbury Bulletin on 11/21/2007]

Amy's winning poems

My daughter Amy caught the poetry bug when she just turned 9 in December 2008. She wrote her first poem as a Christmas present for me. Since then she has written 400 poems.

Amy's poem collection titled "Love, Laugh, Life : 100 Seleted Poems" won the first place in her age group at the 2009 Minnesota State Fair.

Amy’s dream is to be a writer and a poet.

Here are a few seleted poems by Amy.

Brother
I like my brother Andy
Because he is very handy
And he gives me candy
That’s why he’s so dandy.

Mother
You are the best Mother
To me and my brother
Above any other
So I would never trade you for
another.

Mother’s Day
I hope this is the best
Mother’s Day you’ve ever had.
And I hope you still love me
When I make you mad.
I know I sometimes can be bad,
But today I want to make you glad.

Dad
My Dad is very special to me
He loves me very much you see
He helps me with a lot of things
From business trip toys he bring
He always wants me to play
Look there he is on Christmas Day
Hooray!

Grandma
I know my grandma adores me
And my grandpa too
As you can see
They always take me to the zoo.

My baby doll
My baby doll is nice to hold
The one I have is getting old.
One eye came out and now instead
She has a dress made out of thread.
I take her everywhere I go
And tell her all the things I know.
I like the way she feels at night,
All snuggled up against me tight.

Walk
I went on a walk
All I did was talk.
On the walk I rode my bike
It’s one of the things I like.
Only my mom and I went on the walk
And all we did was talk talk talk.
After the walk we went to dine
It was my first walk in 2009.

Fire drill
At school we have a fire drill
So we go out on a little hill.
When we go out we get a chill
Even if we don't stay still.

Art
Whenever I do art
I do it from my heart
Since I am so smart
I got a head start.

Wish
The sky is getting gray
I wish it was a different day
My mom made me lay
I pray I get to play

Winning at Minnesota State Fair

August 27, 2009 was a very exciting day for me. It seems I have never felt so excited like that in my life, at least not in a long time. I found out that my 9-year-old daughter Amy won big at the 2009 Minnesota State Fair competition.

This was the very first time she participated in the competition. I did expect Amy to win something, especially for her poems. To my surprise, she not only won the 1st place for her poem collection, but she also won the 1st place for her colored pencil drawing (Fruit), the 3rd place for her acrylic painting (Lions) and the 4th place for her water color painting (Parrot).

I have to say, I am most proud of her 1st place for the poem collection. She is really good at writing rhyming poems and wrote 400 poems since last December. I hope we can get her poems published some day.

My daughter made this one of the proudest mements and one of the best days in my life. It was a great day to celebrate and remember.