As we walked up the Baldwin Hills trail, my best friend tells me to watch a reel. I say something along the likes of, “baby, let’s look outside”! But she says, “this is poignant and signficant”. So I watch and listen.
The reel is Ocean Vuong talking about the current generation’s self cringe, and in turn unable to act as their authentic selves because of that very awareness.
As much as I denounced his diasporic words in On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous because it felt too weighted, he is indeed correct. And maybe I found them to be lame because I saw the freedom of emotion as cringe. Perhaps, you find yourself there. I am there with you.
Making this website felt cringe. The name is stupid. The name is funny to me, but I thought other people might find it in goofy taste. I stood my ground on it because for once, I wanted to be free.
Concurrently, the most earnest thing we have is hate. Hate is true and honest. We can declare hate and judgement upon one another or a thing faster than we scroll. And we cannot say that about a lot of things.
shari wei 