Essay

ESSAYS

An illustration of a little girl in braids holding a green shopping basket in an Asian grocery store.

Asiatown Forever

Since taking root 40 years ago, the vibrant neighborhood remains a refuge for food and family. HOUSTONIA

Drum Head

But pain and pleasure intertwine in playing the drums, much as they do elsewhere in life. CATAPULT

Illustration of honey walnut shrimp on a plate on a blue table with yellow chopsticks

The Meaning of a Dish: Honey Walnut Shrimp

The Chinese American dish that isn’t, really. RESY

Longing for the Water

Swimming has saved me over and over again. But this time it cannot. CATAPULT

Illustration of a faceless person holding two hands to their face. To either side of them are volumes of books that say things like "diary"

Pain in the Brain

A column on life with a chronic headache. CATAPULT

An illustration of a bowl of queso by John Blanchard

When Authenticity Means a Heaping Plate of Tex-Mex

What does authentic mean, anyway, when cuisines migrates and adapt with people? SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Illustration of a woman with long black hair and her head in her hand by Olivia Waller.

Towards Chinatown

On the possibility of losing of my mother — and the loss of my mother tongue. LONGREADS

Photo of six children napping on a floor, each on their own pillow.

Stress Purchase of the Week: The Perfect Muji Sleepwear

How one fresh pair of PJs upgraded this writer’s sleep aesthetic. SHONDALAND

Illustartion of a storekeeper looking out a window at mountains. On the shelf next to him are bags of chips.

Counter Revolution

My grandparents from China risked everything to start a humble grocery store in an unlikely place — and changed my family forever. SOUTHWEST: THE MAGAZINE

Downtown Houston's skyline, with skyscrapers, on a rainy, cloudy day.

Houston, a Love Letter

I write this from California, 1,900 miles away from my hometown, as I watch the devastation of Hurricane Harvey unfold. VOGUE

Photo illustration of a Filet-O-Fish sandwich

Filet-O-Comfort

My immigrant family made an American fast-food staple their own. SHONDALAND

Photo of a monument with Japanese characters on it at Manzanar. There are snow-capped mountains in the background.

Walking In Their Footsteps at a Former Japanese Internment Camp

I wanted to see Manzanar with my own eyes, so that my understanding of history might feel deeper through the experience of place. NPR

Illustration of a person in a blue swim suit in the water. The perspective is under water.

To Swim is to Endure

If I don’t swim, the pain grows. If I’m in more pain, what will become of my life? CATAPULT

FLASH NONFICTION

White text on a blue-green background: wildness, issue no. 31. est. 2015

How to Check the Burners

In February, the burners finally fail on the 1960s Wedgewood stove, flickering empty like ghosts. WILDNESS

A woman with dark hair holding a coat over an arm. She is in the bottom of a art installation that looks like the bottom of a pool.

The Aunties at the YMCA

The aunties at the YMCA DGAF. JELLYFISH REVIEW