Vulnerability

About the Book

Originally a private collection written as a form of self-reflection, it is now being publicized as a manner of revealing my innermost thoughts and a tentative first step toward becoming a writer. The overflowing thoughts of a sixteen-year-old fit into words and stanzas, paragraphs and verses. I cram them into broken poems and strings of words threaded together by an array of artistic nothingness.

About the Author

She is a sixteen-year-old Chinese girl who was raised in Portugal and considers English her first language. She is a perfect example of someone who had to live with the clash of Eastern and Western culture and education. Even though these are not directly mentioned in her writing, there are points at which her opinions and morals seem conflicted and contradictory, which is a clear sign of opposite influences at different stages of her life. These are her genuine views, and albeit naive and at times “plastic” and sickeningly positive or overly cynical, in some ways it directly portrays the sheep mentality our society and the younger generation has adopted. It also shows that even though she is aware of it and attempts to express her individualism, she still falls in the trap of the herd mentality. She phrases emotions either eloquently or crudely—there is no in between, often painting her own views and objections of her limited world into her vast ideas. She shows us through her writing that she is the perfect example of human growth and the fallacies that bias and emotion created within one's personal bubble. Although her writing is quite childish and to adults may seem overused and meaningless or blatantly obvious, through her collection she shows a progression of thoughts and a development in writing style, gradually creating her own voice. This is very relatable for young teenagers who might be struggling through the same issues and don't want an all knowing command and instead seek an equally perplexed companion.