Growing up

From "Follow Your Arrow" by Kacey Musgraves

I am far from being a "grown up" but I can definitely tell that I have been growing up. I will be entering my senior year of college in about a month in and a half and then 9 short months later, I'll be graduating college and entering the real world.  I love this new Kacey Musgraves song - not only because of the Pi Phi symbolism, but because I feel like it preaches a pretty strong message.  Sure the lyrics are controversial, especially for the country music genre, but I think that this song is all about being proud of who you are, not holding back, trying new things, and learning from your mistakes. 

15 Things That Taste Like My Asian American Childhood

Modeled from Foodbeast

Strawberry Pocky sticks. I love seeing these sold at places like Target!

Strawberry Yan Yan's.

Strawberry Koala snacks.  Notice a trend? I really like strawberry.. Also - I want to note that I would exclusively eat the Koala crackers, and not the Panda crackers. 

Botan Rice Candy! I still love these! Sometimes you can even find them at World Market! 

Caramel Milk Candy 

Fruit Bubble Gum. Someone brought these to gym class one day my freshman year of high school. I was so surprised to see these again! 

Shrimp Flavored Chips - I love these. I still buy them at World Market.

Nori. I think I've lost my taste of dry nori but I still love it in sushi. 

Lychee! These things were so addicting. 

Yogurt drinks - this was always the first thing I grabbed when me and my family went grocery shopping on Sunday. I wish they sold them in larger bottles more frequently. 

Boba Tea. Still my favorite thing in the world. Like ever. 

Dry ramen noodle snacks. So good! 

Grass jelly drink

Dried pork. If you're not Asian, you think it's disgusting. I'm not sure what it is, but I ate it on everything anyway. 

Sticky rice wrapped in leaves - oh my goddness this is my favorite way to eat rice! My aunt and uncle make these in their restaurant and gave me six to take home. There are huge perks when your family owns a Taiwanese restaurant. 

Five Things Friday

I'm moving into a new apartment with my friends next month and I couldn't be more ecstatic! While I have absolutely loved the apartment I've lived in the past two years, I've had a ton of roommate drama.  I tend to run away from conflict which is part of the problem - but the other problem is that the people I live with are my sister's friend…and not to be mean..but they're not really my scene.

Since I am the only one out of my friends that have been living the BYOF (bring your own furniture) lifestyle, I already have accumulated a lot of stuff to bring to our new apartment…but that hasn't stopped me from looking and lusting over furniture.  So to kick off Five Things Friday, where I'll blog about five things that I am lusting over, these are the top five things I would love to have in the new apartment:

This would be a perfect accent chair. 

Waffles are my favorite food. Make them circus animal shaped? Even better! 

Okay, so I actually bought this two months ago for my new room..but I'm still so obsessed with it!

A perfect welcome for any Pi Phi's home! 

It's going to be hard to get used to sharing a bathroom - I'll definitely need a mirror in my room so I can get ready in the morning. 

Is there something that you have in your apartment that you can't live without?

Target | Walmart (similar) | Urban Outfitters | Pottery Barn | Fab

How I went from being Rapunzel to Mulan in a day.

Coco Chanel said, "A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life."  Not only did my hair transformation change my life, but it also changed the life of someone else.

One year ago today, I donated 13 inches to Locks of Love.  8 weeks ago, I donated 8 inches to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

When I donated my hair last year, I was a nervous wreck.  I had been growing my hair out for two and a half years and so many of my friends would see pictures of me with short hair and comment that I looked so much better with long hair.  It sounds vapid, but I was so scared I was going to be ugly when I got all my hair cut off.  Luckily, I didn't let my friend's beliefs prevent me from donating.  In fact - both times I donated my hair, I told nobody or only one friend.  Let me tell you - instagram/Facebook can be a bold way to announce to the world what you've done.

It makes me feel a sense of accomplishment to say that I've been able to donate my hair twice within the year. And the fact that I know it is going to a good cause is a way to remember that I am doing this for something bigger than myself.  God gave me the talent to grow hair faster than the normal human being - might as well but that gift to good use!

My hair transition: April 2012, June 2012, March 2013, April 2013.