There is little that I connect with in terms of my Asian roots. Korean food being at the top of my list, but I often question if I would like it even if my tastebuds weren’t from Korean DNA. Asian cultural things have always been a mystery to me as I both want to embrace it as lost heritage and run away from it as a way of reverse psychologizing myself on the tremendous sense of rejection and thievery that others caused me to feel.
Still, as a way of trying to connect on my terms, I have chosen to acknowledge and enjoy the Lunar New Year or Chuseok in Korea, which is also deemed the Spring Festival period. It is something that I feel is light and allows me to hold on with a thin thread of fabric to all things Asia, not just Korea. While I do not necessarily eat traditional food or attend the stereotypical festivals, I quietly make an effort to acknowledge and share in the celebration that I know my biological family will be also taking part.
So, last night was the first new moon in this twelve month cycle. It marks the beginning of the year of the snake 
– blue wood snake, apparently. Although the snake is not my favorite animal, I appreciate that it has a more positive meaning to the Chinese zodiac.
With that, Happy Lunar New Year and may the year of the blue wood snake be one filled with wisdom, change and resilience.
~T 
