“This is our beautiful Malaysian idiosyncrasy: we don’t just meet; we makan. Food is everywhere and despite the health statistics, it is a point of immense national pride. We don’t just eat to live; we eat to connect.”- Ms Evelyn
“I am not a self-made woman. I don’t believe such a thing exists. I am a mosaic: my father’s determination, yes, but also my teachers’ faith, my friends’ steadiness during moments of doubt, and my team’s relentless commitment to excellence.”- Ms Evelyn
They say if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. But if you are like my best friend and I, you just end up working every day!
My closet became a museum of everything I wasn’t allowed to be. I couldn’t be a designer, so I became their best customer, buying the courage I was too scared to put on a canvas myself. Can’t design the handbag? Buy it. Can’t sketch the perfect shoe? Procure! – Ms Evelyn
Let’s stop treating love like a finite resource.
In a world obsessed with productivity and milestones, we often treat our hearts like bank accounts; afraid to “spend” too much love, saving it only for the “rare” moments.
But I’ve learnt that the finish line of “perfection” keeps moving and life is far too short to leave love unsaid. This year, I am making a radical choice: to be present and to love with abandon.
“Some friends tell me I use the word ‘love’ too freely… But I believe the opposite is true. Love isn’t diminished by abundance, it multiplies. The world doesn’t need less love; it’s desperate for more.”
Lighting someone else’s candle doesn’t make yours go out; it just makes the world brighter. This 2026, let’s choose connection over achievement and presence over perfection.
Be brave enough to be “too much” today. Happy New Year xx
When someone you know is counting breaths, you stop counting achievements. When you watch people fight to stay alive, you realise that being alive is the achievement.
I learnt the hard way that not everyone is honest. Not everyone who smiles at you is your friend. I got disappointed repeatedly by broken promises, by gossip disguised as concern, by friends who only showed up when it benefited them.
I led a very sheltered life growing up. My father was strict; rules for everything, structure always, freedom rarely. So, when I finally left for college at 17, I was like a bird released from a cage into an endless sky, utterly bewildered about which direction to fly.
There I was, feverish and debilitated, setting up my third load of laundry at 11pm on a Friday night. Who optimises laundry schedules while running a fever? Apparently, I DO.