Hi, friends! I have an exciting announcement: I’ll be blogging here regularly.
My little 11-year-old self is doing cartwheels in my soul!
My dreams of becoming a writer began as far back as I can remember.
I have journals filled with awful rhyming poems, a few good ones, meaningful thoughts about life and my faith in God, and odes to the boy who happened to catch my eye at the moment.
I was just 11 when I sent in my first poem to be published by a magazine. I was a young immigrant girl, filled with the dreams of her ancestors and her own dreams as well. Nothing could’ve prepared me for when my mom told me that I couldn’t get paid for that first poem when the magazine asked to publish it.
“We don’t have our permanent residence papers yet, Ash,” my mother said. “We’re still in the process. We’ve spent thousands of dollars and so much time, and we’re just not there yet.”
My heart shattered.
The dreams that once were vivid and technicolor faded into black-and-white.
As I got older I began to see that other publications appreciated my writings, too. But I wrote it all for free. By the time I got my American citizenship, in 2010, I had begun to believe that my gift wasn’t worth getting paid for.
Then came some of the worst moments in my adult life: my breast cancer diagnosis in 2017.
I began documenting my cancer story on Instagram. I started writing and sharing for little Asha, and others listened and understood, or tried to, and some even saw their own reflections in my words.
In 2019, an editor at Everyday Health asked me to write for her. She emailed me words that were probably so simple for her, but would revolutionize my world: “We will pay you for your article. We value you and your words and perspective so much.”
I sometimes go back to those emails and weep. That one experience allowed me to place value on my words and gift, and realize I deserved to be paid for them. It was God taking the awful and, somehow, bringing good.
Recently, Everyday Health asked me to be a regular contributor.
And now, here I am, sharing my story in hopes of helping even just one person feel less alone, or less awkward, or weird, or silly, or less unworthy or overlooked.
I know how important this is, especially as a woman of color and a first generation immigrant.
I’m excited to share my thoughts in a broader way on this platform and to walk together in this wild world of “survivorship.” I hope you’ll join me here.
And to the little immigrant girl inside me, who has broken down barriers and learned how to climb over the rubble and now is living beyond the dreams she once had … I’m so proud of you.
To my IG readers, welcome to Everyday Health. To my Everyday Health readers, please also follow me on Instagram at Dear Cancer, It’s Me. Together, we are a community.
I’m so grateful for this community.
I’m so grateful for my Everyday Health family.
I’m so grateful for a God who I can dream big with!
Here’s to the many adventures to come!
Love you, mean it.
Important: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not Everyday Health.