The Social Isolation Issue

With articles on...

Coping with quarantine Films to watch during quarantine Dating interractially in the Asian community And interviews with...

Isabela Rittinger of the International Macanese Youth Forum Riya Goel of AsiansLead

Editor’s Note Dear OM readers, Two months ago, we had never heard of social distancing. It now defines every second of our lives. It’s hard, and it’s alright to admit that you hate it. We will continue to social distance as long as is necessary, to protect our vulnerable population. and reduce the pressure on our healthcare system, but while we do that, we can at least talk about how much it, to be perfectly frank, *sucks*. Being physically separated from our loved ones, unable to do some of our favorite, more social, activities, and not knowing what comes next–will we be able to go back to school or college this fall? Will a vaccine be ready soon? When will this END?! But, as much as it’s alright for us to commiserate about how awful this is, we must acknowledge our privilege in doing so. Millions of essential workers around the world do not have the luxury o being safely isolated. Small business owners and freelance workers are feeling the economic downturn like no one else. Healthcare workers are working around the clock to keep us alive. It’s easy to feel completely hopeless. Working on this issue was not easy–being confronted with the stories of those suffering the most from this pandemic, and reading it may not be easy either. But, like every celebrity has been reminding us from their yacht, we are in this together.

Your community, of Asian women at Overachiever Magazine, is here for you through this.

Yours, Rehana Paul Founder, Editor-in-chief

d e r e a l i z a t i in a Written dissociative tim

by J. Faith Malicdem

i o n me

Faith Malicdem is a freshman studying journalism at Emerson College. She is also the creator and curator of the PieFace Column. Aside from writing, Faith has many creative endeavors, including film photography and music-making. She hopes to further media coverage on mental health as well as music and the arts.

INSTAGRAM: @johannafaith THE PIEFACE COLUMN: piefacecolumn.com/

https://www.

It was hell week in our school’s production of Pippin. I had never dedicated so much time and energy to a creative, collaborative endeavor. It finally felt like I was doing something I truly loved with people who drove me to do my best, who believed in me. And so, I gave my lowly ensemble role everything I had in me.

But then closing night was over, and I crashed the second I got home. I was awoken the next morning by my dad, who cautioned, “you’re going to be late for school.”

“But it’s Sunday,” I muffled into my pillow angrily.

“No... it’s Tuesday,” my dad said, concerned.

I turned on my phone to check if it were true. And it was. It was Tuesday.

When I stumbled out of bed, I got goosebumps. My tongue felt heavy in my mouth. My entire body ached. I told my parents how I felt, and they said I was completely fine yesterday. They said I had gone to school and everything.

“But yesterday was closing night?” I reasoned.

I didn’t remember going to school on Monday, or church on Sunday. Or rather, I was convinced the occurrences that took place on those days were dreams.

There was no way they could have been real. All I could recollect was interactions I had with people, and even then, when looking back, it felt like I had no

control over what I was saying to them.

My parents took me to urgent care, going off what I had told them about my physical symptoms. After running blood and urine tests, the doctors concluded I had a “virus” and just needed to get rest and drink plenty of fluids. So, that week, I stayed home and rested up.

Two years later, I came across a video one of my favorite artists, Dodie, had put out. I watched, listened to, and read everything and anything she released. In this video, she described exactly what I felt the following weeks after Pippin’s hell week. “I was kind of carrying stuff around with me, and around this time, I realized I had this uncomfortable sense of floating—not taking in as much as I used to, not being able to see properly, my memory being really bad…,” she explained, introducing the term derealization to my vocabulary. Was this what I dealt with in eighth grade?

In an interview, the Bio-Behavioral Institute’s Executive Director, Dr. Fugen Neziroglu stated that 50 to 70 percent of people will experience derealization or depersonalization at some point in their lives.

“Experiencing depersonalization or derealization doesn’t mean you have a disorder. Depersonalization and derealization disorders involve a persistent or recurring feeling of being detached from one’s body or mental processes,” said Dr. Neziroglu.

Depersonalization is identified with feelings of being detached from one’s body, whereas derealization refers to the feeling of being detached from one’s surroundings, according to Dr. Neziroglu.

Because I identify with the latter, I asked her to further her delve into the feelings that derealization entails. But little did I know, depersonalization and derealization exhibit similar symptoms.

She proceeded to list all the possible feelings associated with the two mental states.

“Although we do not know what causes derealization we know what are common triggers. Often, a trauma that one lives through or remembers may trigger it, such as remembering chaos in your household as a child, or being physically or sexually

abused. A very common trigger is marijuana, and even a one time usage of illicit drugs. Severe anxiety may also trigger it,” explained Dr. Nezigrolu.

She then discussed how fighting the feeling typically makes the sensation worse.

Upon my own discovery of the mental state, I did exactly that.

My sophomore-aged self digested the information I’d learned from dodie and buried it in the depths of my brain until junior year came around, when I was talking to my dear friend Jamilah W., with whom I normally conversed about mental health. Dodie’s concept of derealization had been tossed around in our conversations before. I told her about this disconnect from reality I was feeling— this feeling of wanting to experience life like I once did, but not having the ability to do so because my perception felt so foggy and blurred. It constantly felt like I had just walked out of watching a two-hour long movie in theatres, and I needed a few minutes to ground myself back into reality. That was when I realized I dealt with derealization on a regular basis. Jamilah found that she’s struggled with it, too. Ever since, we’ve been checking in with one another on an almost-daily basis about how our mental and emotional states are.

“I feel like I found out what it was after I had been dealing with it for a while… I think it’s closely tied into when I was first experiencing anxiety, and even more so when I had to juggle work and school in

my later high school years,” Jamilah explained Because Jamilah and I were so in-tune with discovering the reasoning behind our mental states, she did her own research on derealization to find that she exhibited a lot of the typical symptoms.

She expanded on how initially, she would be present in her panic attacks, and then suddenly she’d have to remind herself where she worked, where she was, and who she was. That’s when the derealization creeped in.

agnoses and self-diagnoses with actually experiencing symptoms on a WebMD page. A while back, when I was going through a really intense state of dere alization, Jamilah sent me a list of five steps to follow to help ground myself.

Naturally, I wanted Dr. Neziroglu’s input on how to deal with derealization. She explained how the sensation is a difficult one to live with, but ultimately, trying to will it away won’t do anyone any good. “It is best to continue to engage in life even if you no longer have the same sensations, perceptions or feelings,” said Neziroglu.

“It’s weird to explain because it wasn’t that I was forgetting, it’s more that I was in such a state of panic that I had to remind myself of things that I knew to be true to bring me back down to reality,” she recounted.

We then fell down a rabbit hole of discussing how niche derealization felt in comparison to other manifestations of panic and anxiety attacks. Because derealization isn’t something people talk about often, it’s easy to mistake misdi

“I told her about this disconnect from reality I was feeling—this feeling of wanting to experience life like I once did, but not having the ability to do so because my perception felt so foggy and blurred.”

But in a time of crisis, isolation, and prolonged stress, it is easier than usual to slip into a sense of hopelessness—whether that manifests as a pit of depression, increased occurrences of anxiety attacks, or a state of derealization. While we may not be able to control what’s going on in the world around us or the inner workings and chemical makeup of our own brains, we can practice identifying our

needs and emotions, prioritizing treating ourselves with kindness. Because derealization and depersonalization specifically stem from feelings of disconnectedness, it is vital now more than ever to regularly check in with ourselves, check in with loved ones, prioritize human interaction (via the internet, of course. Social distance!), and ensure that we’re constantly working toward becoming more in-tune with our minds and emotions.

To find out more about derealization, see the WebMD description here. If you believe you may be dealing with derealization, you can take a self-assessment quiz via the Bio-Behavioral Institute. For more information about diagnoses and treatment options, visit Smart TMS’s informational page here.

Operation Gridlock: Distancing Protests Written by Ashley Chen

Ashley Chen is the political columnist for Overachiever Magazine. She’s an undergraduate student from New York majoring in Political Science. Her activism is centered upon voter education and civic engagement. Her other areas of interest would include educational equity, reproductive rights, gentrification, climate change and the list goes on. In her free time, she loves to watch films and create collages.

INSTAGRAM: @ash.leyyyy Many of us saw the disturbing videos and photos of angry conservatives on the streets of Michigan all over our social media on Wednesday, April 15th.

We heard chants and honks as they demanded that businesses be reopened in the midst of a global health crisis.

This event would come to be known to be “Operation Gridlock.” Organizers of this protest advised that attendees stay in their cars to abide by social distancing. However, people took it upon themselves to elevate their political statement by taking it to the steps of the Capitol.

These protests were not limited to the state of Michigan. We saw the same sentiments and demonstrations performed in Ohio, Colorado, Wisconsin and Kentucky. This is not an act of patriotism, nor is it an act of self righteousness. It is an act of toxic privilege.

The issue with this situation is that people thought it would be appropriate to display a white supremacy, Trump reelection campaign in the midst of a

health crisis. Protestors in Michigan strapped guns across their chests, waved confederate flags and held poster boards with Swastika signs. It would be naive for any of us to say that this is out of the ordinary, as the divisiveness of this administration has consistently politicized this pandemic. Not only is the violation of social distancing orders reckless, such demonstrations are counterproductive. While we all hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will near its end, this will be highly unlikely given the state of our country. If these individuals have the time to protest during a health crisis, they have the means to stay at home. These protests are blatant signs of disrespect towards essential workers. Essential workers are on the frontlines ensuring that we are healthy and equipped with the proper resources. They are the real heroes in this situation, and we should honor them by abiding by the guidelines endorsed by health professionals. and we should honor them by abiding by the guidelines endorsed by health professionals.

The disruptive protests are amplified with the continual support and coverage from conservative media like Fox News.

We also see this support with President Trump as he has tweeted about “liberating” Michigan. His eagerness to reopen states and businesses is shown through the means of attacking governors at his press briefings. He claims that the Constitution gives him the authority to force

states to reopen (he does not, federalism exists for a reason). Our founding fathers believed there should be a balance of powers between state governments and the federal government to avoid a tyrannical system. Furthermore, his support for these dangerous demonstrations is endangering the American people especially those who are immunocompromised. If he truly wanted to reopen the economy, he would know that in order to do so we must flatten the curve. The administration’s foothold on this situation is not only weak, but truly incompetent. President Trump has used medical supplies and direct aid to states as leverage to force states to comply with his administration’s agenda. On Tuesday, April 28th, President Trump wanted sanctuary states to make adjustments to their immigration policies in return for COVID-19 federal aid. This administration has failed to not only control the situation, but has amplified it through a series of political vendettas. By encouraging people to rally in tight proximities and failing to increase testing, we are delaying businesses and normal services from reopening.

The organizers of “Operation Gridlock” wanted to create a scene in which people would block the streets of the Capitol in hopes that it would garner attention. However, blocking these streets meant preventing medics from performing life-saving services. Michigan health care worker, James Smith posted a video to social media expressing his frustrations with these protests and his inability to do his job. His outrage sparked a huge conversation throughout social media as people became more aware of the severity of the protests. For those who would like to watch the video, here’s the link. For many of us, to see the shift in our political landscape and how polarizing it has become is extremely alarming. Nevertheless, this is

“If these individuals have the time to protest during a health crisis, they have the means to stay at home.” a pivotal moment in which we need to provide love, support and resources to our neighbors. For those who have the means to provide donations to health care workers and those in need during these difficult times, here are a few links to hospitals/organizations: NYC Health and Hospitals https://www.nychealthandhospitals. org/donate/ Give Directly’s COVID-19 Cash Program https://www.givedirectly.org/covid-19/ us/ Feeding America https://www.feedingamerica.org/findyour-local-foodbank Direct Relief https://www.directrelief.org/ Give2Asia https://give2asia.org/ Help Small Businesses via GoFundMe pages: (You can also support small businesses like restaurants/bakeries by ordering in. Please be kind and tip delivery workers a bit extra if you’re able to.) h t t p s : // w w w . g o f u n d m e . c o m / small-business-relief-fundraisers

How to Make a Mini Kite Written by Aria Mallare To make this kite, you’ll need Aria Mallare is a writer and creative residing in Chicago with work featured in art festivals including The Light and Book of Peace. Outside of writing, she enjoys running, painting, and learning American Sign Language. She wants to live in a world where people listen to each other and hopes to cultivate social change through her work.

INSTAGRAM: @arriiiaaaa.cm I have been self-quarantining for over five weeks now. In that time, the only access I have to the outside world is my balcony, which I feel so blessed to have. As the weather in chilly Chicago warms up to the spring sun, there’s nothing I want more than to go outside and enjoy the nice weather. To enjoy this nice weather while maintaining a six-foot distance from the world, I decided to fly a kite. Kite-flying is a relaxing and fun way to enjoy the fresh spring air, and lucky for me, it’s also something I can do on my balcony.

w

A plastic bag Wooden coffee stirrers,popsicle sticks, or straws String Scissors Glue or tape (optional, but saves time and patience) Markers (optional)

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1.

rers and make a cross, then use string or glue to secure them in place. Then cut a piece of string long enough to go around the perimeter of the kite plus a couple more inches. Now, tie the end of the string to the top vertex of the kite and continue tying it around each vertex until the string makes a diamond.

2.

3.

Place the good-side of the design down and place the kite frame on top. From each vertex of the design, make a small extending to the top of the corresponding vertex of the kite frame. Now, fold each tab over the string and secure it with glue or tape.

4.

Cut a piece of string twice the length of a coffee stirrer. Tie each end of the string to each end of the horizontal bar of the kite frame.

Then, cut a piece of string about three arm-lengths long and tie one end to the middle of the string tied to the crossbar. Tie the other end of the string to a coffee stirrer and wind the string up to a manageable length.

To begin, take two coffee stir-

Place the kite frame on the plastic bag and make a mark above each vertex. Then, make a line about 2-3 cm long extending from the point and make a dot where the line ends.

Now, connect the dots. Design a pattern on the plastic using permanent markers and then cut it out.

Interview with Isabela Rittinger of the International Macanese Youth Forum Interview by: Charlotte Drummond

Isabela Rittinger is a 17 year old high school student living in Toronto, Canada. Along with her work with the Macanese forum, she also dedicates herself to climate activism. Isabela is an organizer for Fridays for Future Toronto, coordinating the writing team and managing the Twitter account. When she isn’t doing this, Isabela is working as the founder and president of the Durham Region chapter of the PERIOD Movement. Isabela loves to read, write and play with her dog, Henry! INSTAGRAM: @isabelarittinger Introduce yourself!

Hi! My name is Isabela Conceição Rittinger, and I’m a 17-year-old student from Toronto, Canada.

Who are your biggest inspirations in activism and in everything?

I think that my biggest inspiration is congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez both in activism and in general. As a young woman hoping to run for office when I’m older, being able to see AOC’s rise to power and how she became an inimitable force in the house, against all the odds, has been incredibly inspiring. In general, however, my parents are my biggest inspirations. They continue to support and assist me while also allowing me to work things out on my own. Watching my mother, a first-gen immigrant, has been immensely motivational.

Your family emigrated from Macau to Canada.

What is your family’s immigration story?

My grandparents immigrated from Macau to Toronto in 1976. Macau is a special administrative region off the coast of Hong Kong, which was a Portuguese colony until being handed over to China in 1999. When my grandparents came, they brought their young daughters, my mother, and my aunt. For the first year, they lived in the basement of a cousin that already immigrated from Macau; after that, they moved to a suburban town where they still live.

My grandparents live around the corner from us!

How did you start the International Macanese Online Youth Forum? What’s the story that started your passion for helping preserve Macanese culture?

I started the International Macanese Online Youth Forum with the support of the Casa de Macau Toronto, a cultural heritage club for Macanese now living in Toronto. Along with my grandparents, I am a member of the Casa, as I’m very interested in learning more about and becoming involved in the Macanese community. However, as I became more involved, I noticed that I was the only active member under the age of 50 or so, and there was a growing concern that the culture would be buried with the current generation, because of a lack of interest from youth. I wanted to create something that could connect other Macanese youth from around the world in order to preserve our culture.

What do you plan on studying/are studying now?

What subjects do you like the most?

I am in grade 12, so I’m looking forward to heading to university this fall for political science! My favourite subjects are definitely English and history—I couldn’t do math if my life depended on it.

What do you love the most about being Macanese, and why do you think it’s important to be able to embrace your culture openly?

What I love most about being Macanese is the uniqueness of the culture: as a fusion of Chinese

and Portuguese influence, art, architecture, food, and language of Macau is extremely specific. Because of the limited amount of people that can say they are from Macau and even more limited amount who lived in Macau while it was Portuguese, it’s a very close-knit community. For example, one person I befriended through the forum lived in Sao Paolo, Brazil. We quickly discovered that our grandfathers were close friends in Macau nearly 50 years ago!I think it’s so important to openly embrace your culture because it is absolutely something to be proud of, regardless of what it is. Art, literature, architecture, and music are the backbones of our society, all of which are propagated through cultural influences. Our culture has a lasting impact on our actions and our interests. Even more, it connects us with others in unique ways and allows us to make relationships with people we otherwise may not have things in common with.

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment?

I think that my biggest accomplishment was definitely when I met Prince Harry. I had the opportunity to participate in a government program in Grade 8, in which I served the Members of Parliament in Ontario Legislature. One day, Prince Harry appeared promoting the Invictus Games, and we were able to meet him!

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Asian women today?

In my opinion, the biggest challenge facing Asian women today are stereotypes, both in the media and in the mindsets of many. It became strikingly clear during the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak that racism and discrimination are alive and well in North America. I think that women are disproportionately affected by these racial stereotypes because of the double-standards plaguing minorities. We are sexualized and fetishized by the media while deemed “too smart” or “bossy.” These double standards and suffocating stereotypes plague Asian women and force us to conform to the generally white, male images of Asian women, which is why this is the biggest challenge.

What’s next for you? Any exciting new projects?

My most recent project is the founding of my community’s chapter of the PERIOD Movement, an organization committed to ending period poverty and period stigma internationally. I started a petition asking the Canadian Federal Government to subsidize period products during the COVID-19 outbreak, which has so far received over 600 signatures. We are providing menstrual products to our community from home, packing pads and tampons to be distributed individually. I’m excited to see where it goes!

Charlotte Drummond is a part of Overachiever Magazine’s Editorial and Outreach teams. She is an Indian-American student and writer from Los Angeles, California. She is currently attending Emerson College, and studying Writing, Literature and Publishing. At the moment, she is working for multiple on-campus publications as a part of their writing and copyediting teams. In her free time, she loves reading, taking pictures of plants, getting emo over female singer-songwriters, and hanging out with her dog.

INSTAGRAM: @charlotte.drummond

Riya Goel is a junior at West Orange High School in West Orange, New Jersey. She is a student-athlete and student activist. Riya is a rower and a fencer and started her school’s fencing team, GirlUp club, and Meatless Mondays. She is a teen advisor with Girl Up at the United Nations Foundation, a girl advocate with the Working Group on Girls to the United Nations, and serves as an alternate to the Beijing 25+ youth task force to the UN. Riya co-founded and is the CEO of Asians Lead, a youth-based nonprofit that aims to Redefine, Inspire, Create, and Educate (RICE). She is also a national club leader and voter registration captain with DoSomething and is a fellow at CivicsUnplugged. Riya was also the former director of research at the Princeton Student Climate Initiative, and New Jersey Climate Advocates. Riya is also a proud Girl Scout, and writes STEM curriculum for the organization, and also serves as a youth liaison to her town’s environmental commission. RIYA’S INSTAGRAM: @riya.goel_ AsiansLead’s INSTAGRAM: @asianslead

Interview with Riya Goel of AsiansLead Interview by: Charlotte Drummond

Introduce yourself!

My name is Riya Goel. I’m a first-generation Indian American, who did a bunch of things that you can read in the bio. But really, I’m a people person. I try to take my experiences, and use them to make change that we can all benefit from. Of course, I feel accomplished when I get something done, but my greatest accomplishments are listening, learning and gaining new perspectives. It’s all about the perspectives because once you can open up your world to different perspectives, your thought process changes.

What’s the story behind your organization, AsiansLead? What inspired you to start it?

Pretty much, I was sitting in a hotel room at one of my sister’s soccer tournaments, and I was about two weeks out of the GirlUp leadership summit that really inspired me. Anyway, I was kind of having one of those reflect on life moments where I was just thinking back on my experiences and what I could really do to make a change in society and something that I could relate to. And then, I realized that a part of my identity that I never really embraced was being Indian, and it was always something that I ran away from because I never really saw anyone like me out in the world and being successful other than my family. So I called up one of my fellow teen advisors who is Asian as well, and we just planned this new project out over FaceTime. I knew that I couldn’t take this on alone not only because life happens but because I wanted to address the struggles of the entire Asian demographic, and I knew that I couldn’t do it alone.

What do you hope to accomplish with your organization? What goals do you have?

Right now, I feel like the goal that the organization has is to really bring awareness to the issues that Asians face all over the world, especially with the recent coronavirus. A big focus for us right now is storytelling, because we want to keep our audience engaged and aware

of what is going on in the world. Other than that, our goal is to really start at the grassroots level by starting high school and college chapters, young professional networks and spaces where people can talk about their experiences, and learn from each other. Another huge goal that we have is to support our Asian community. A significant issue that goes unaddressed for Asians is mental health, as Asian families typically don’t encourage it even though Asians are a very pressured group of people. So whether that means providing services or places to talk, or scholarships to pursue a “non-traditional” career, AsiansLead wants to be there for whatever you need, and whatever you want to do so that we can see more of “us” out in the world.

Who are your biggest inspirations in activism and in everything?

Two huge inspirations for me are Nadya Okamoto and Deja Foxx. Hearing their stories and seeing how they took their situations and issues they were passionate about despite the stigma.

They made these issues national movements despite the odds stacked against them really inspires me to do better, be better, and never make excuses for why i can’t do my work because I am lucky to be where I am. I need to use the resources that I do have available to me to really make an impactful change.

What do you find the most fulfilling about being involved in activism?

Activism gives me a purpose. Before getting involved in all of the amazing movements and projects that I am working on, I always felt like something was missing from my life. When I started getting involved in activism, I started to feel like I was part of something greater, something more than just myself, which is a really powerful feeling; to make a change in someone else’s life. Another great thing that I pick up almost every day through my activism is new perspectives, and this might be my favorite thing about activism. As I meet new people, hear more stories, and just listen to people, I

get to think about things in another way and put myself in someone else’s shoes. Gaining these perspectives is so valuable because it really allows you to see the world in a lens other than your own.

What do you find the most challenging about being involved in activism?

I think just keeping up with it all is hard.

Asians Lead is definitely my number one right now, but balancing all aspects of my life, and being good at all of these aspects is challenging. I’m a high school student, athlete, and activist, which all require time to see results. I think something that I have learned the importance of this year, my junior year, is really balance and time management, because sometimes you need to cut a couple of things to gain some things. Even though that was a hard pill to swallow for me, I think that is a lesson moving forward, and something to keep in mind for anyone and everyone.

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment?

I don’t know that I have the “biggest accomplishment”. This seems like something that should pop into my head immediately, but for me, every small victory is a big accomplishment, because, in that moment, I could feel good by even making myself a sandwich, and that’s a win for me.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Asian women today?

I think that Asian women and girls are starting to see and know their worth in society today. I feel like one of the only things that are holding us back is representation, especially in non-traditional fields such as the arts or media. When we see people that look like us, the possibilities are endless, and it is easier to put yourself in that same situation. I mentioned girls in here, because I’m of the opinion that girls are often grouped under women and that girls should be included in the conversation.

What’s next for you? Any exciting new projects?

Right now, I’m just focusing on building AsiansLead. I want to make sure that people are educated and aware of the stigmas and stereotypes against the Asian minority, and honestly keep the balance between being a student, athlete, and advocate right now.

aria mallare

we have the sky

And yet, In all of this, The sun rises The stars shine The moon beams In all of this, The sun still gets up every morning, Wrapping her children in her warmth The stars travel through time, Smiling sweetly in each window The moon stands guard every night, Protecting a sleepy world from the shadows In all of this, Light continues to emerge from the darkness So look up and to tomorrow Because regardless of all of this, You will always have the sky

female gaze Riana Torrejon

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Rommie Pintatham

Nell Valle nellbell art nellbellart.com

Shivani Mutatkar

INSTAGRAM: @durrschydraws

by Alexandra Durrschnabel

by Visithra Manikam

Visithra Manikam is a self-taught emerging Malaysian female painter and photographer from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She is currently under the mentorship of senior artist Stephen Menon.

Her art is infused with Eastern symbolism and focuses on human behaviour, falling under the pop art/ pop surrealism/ big eye art genre.

Her art style is influenced by the famous Indian artist Jamini Roy who choose to seek his artistic influence from Indian traditional art.

Some of her social message art have been recognised.

Her social arts were Highly Commended in the 2019 Redline artworks Global award.

In 2018 she was named Champion in a live doodle competition (45 artist) and she again won the consolation prize in the live painting category for Citra Terengganu (74 artist). Besides taking part in numerous exhibitions in Malaysia, she has exhibited her work in Manila, Philippines, 2018; Bangla Biennale, West Bengal, India (2019); Yogyakarta and Jakarta, Indonesia; Osaka, Japan; and recently in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. She had her solo exhibition at APW Bangsar in May 2019.

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/vissyarts/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vissyarts Email: visithra@gmail.com

MISS DEMURE

written + drawn by Natalie Obedos

Throughout the years, society has created stereotypes and high expectations on how we should live. No one even asks how we feel or what our dreams are. No one asks that because our parents think their way is the best way. They guilt us into becoming who they want us to be. Parents do teach their children how life is and how people are. They never expected us to already have at least some life experiences just by living life and meeting new people.

Parents will always think we are their little naive children. Just because we don’t tell them everything, they think we never had to experience racism, bullying, and people being rude for no reason. Some of us have but we keep it inside. See, when I was younger, I was told to keep your emotions in. “Why are you crying, stop crying and smile.” Then they force you to smile and if you didn’t, they’d continue giving you the death stare so all you do is pretend like you’re happy and everything is fine when really nothing is fine and you’re dying inside. Growing up, Asian American children are taught to have the perfect grades, and when you didn’t, they’d compare us to someone else or yell at you. You’re taught to shut up and listen to the adults, not giving you a say in anything.

When you come out as LGBTQ+, they tell you it’s not the right way of life. You’re supposed to have a husband, have kids and a career and that’s the only way you’ll be happy. It doesn’t seem like our feelings for someone matter much as long as the parents approve. It’s true, whoever you date and potentially marry, you’ll marry into the family. Society has taught us to look down on a race or look down on someone who’s dating outside of their race. People will use stereotypes like criminals, sloppy, rude, loud, smelly, and low-class. Then they instill that fear into our parents and think everyone in a certain race is the same. When indeed, it depends on the person. I believe parents have good intentions on trying to keep you safe and happy. But, you also need to decide what makes you happy. Life shouldn’t be that hard but it’s everyone around us who keeps shaming us and making sure we live up to society’s standards. It’s tiring to try to be perfect and find someone who everyone approves of.

The Social Distancing Issue Written By | Anu Joshi

DATING INTERRACIALLY IN THE ASIAN COMMUNITY

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rowing up, we’ve all seen different types of relationships. Healthy ones, toxic ones, interracial relationships, and even LGBTQ+ relationships. For most people, we don’t see this as a problem. As long as the person you’re dating is who you see a future with and it’s a healthy relationship, you deserve to be happy. Parents, specifically Asian parents say they want the best for us. I believe they do. They want us to have a great career and a wonderful husband and family. What most of them really long for, is they want you to excel in a job where you make 6 figures, own a house, take care of your family and only marry someone that’s in the same race so their life could be easier. So THEIR life could be easier, so everyone in our community will approve and they want us to live our life exactly how they want us to. Meaning, they want us to live life as how they see fit. I understand when parents would want their child to marry someone in the same race so they could communicate better but it shouldn’t be an expectation.

What if, all of a sudden, you stop liking that person but everyone else thinks you do or you’re being stubborn and childish when really you’ve fallen out of love. People take a peek into our lives like we’re under a microscope and they instantly understand everything there is to know about us. Not everyone is the same. We are not all criminals, we’re not dumb, and we’re not any other stereotypes or labels people want to put on us. We are human beings who have a brain and we use it to take care of ourselves. I’ve heard that parents will come around and get used to the idea that you’re dating someone out of your race. It’s a nice thought but the fact that it’s something they have to get used to, instead of just accepting and being kind to that person.

Society created stereotypes and labels in the first place. It’s up to us to break them. We are not a box, we don’t need to be labeled. Go out and live your life.

If they’ve done someone so disrespectful, then of course take that into consideration. You shouldn’t have to put everyone else’s needs above your own. If you love someone, fight for your love. Defend a couple if they’re being mistreated. It’s time to take control of our own lives and put yourself first. Don’t stop dating them just because of their race. Stop dating them if there is a red flag in your relationship. Also, be patient with yourself and with your partner. Even though people will ridicule you, be kind to them but also stand up for yourself.

helena liu

medicine

There was never anything to fix; it wasn’t my body that was sick.

The pain I felt inside was just another scar to hide.

Your medicine in my veins wasn’t dopamine in my brain.

Sacrificing mental health in the name of material wealth.

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Pictures,

ith the rise of social media, there has been the rise of photographers and people exploring their artistic side and being able to share it on platforms around the world.

This is great for everyone who could not afford to fiscally pursue a career in the arts, or simply did not want to do it full time. With the 2016 American presidential campaign, we saw how damaging that could be, as anyone could post anything, and it was here that we really got the gage of how far misinformation could go. While the misinformation that could spread unchecked has been the source of endless discourse and even court and congressional hearings, the fact that anything could be posted of anyone regardless of whether they have put themselves in the public eye or not has rarely made the news.

Permission, and Citizen

Having worked in most major London museums because of my historical background, this has been a significant problem that is increasingly having to be faced as a safeguarding issue. And social media has not made it the slightest bit easier. This has been especially the case in people and visitors attempting (and sometimes succeeding) in taking pictures of young children in order to get the ‘cute’ factor for their feed. Usually, once caught, we call security and have them removed. However, this is not always possible, and honestly, the social media community, for the most part, does not call people to account for this.

Paparazzi The Social Distancing Issue Written By | Toslima Khatun

Moreover, this affects children of colour and women of colour disproportionately as well as the vulnerable, because they are perceived as somehow ‘exceptional.’ This was the explanation I was given when I caught a visitor (I’m 5ft nothing) trying to take a picture of me when he was pretending to take a selfie. I guess my all-black outfit, including my hijab and purple lipstick on the day, weren’t exactly ‘normal,’ but that was not permitted.

I had another encounter like that where I told a visitor no three times, and then when they wouldn’t listen, I told their partner. They had an argument in my gallery and left. I laugh about it now, but I was an adult, fully aware, and fully able. So, I was able to do something about it. Not everyone is, and being able to exercise that right is not always there.

Now when I say, pictures let me be clear. I do not mean pictures where no one person is the object, and you are in a crowded place, and someone happens to be in it but is not identifiable. I mean, when you take an unauthorised picture of someone with the excuse of it’s ‘nice,’ and instead of offering it to them then and there you post it on social media for thousands if not millions to see. Once the person sees it, whether they like it or not, the picture is out there.

Irrevocably a part of the internet and other peoples’ feeds, albums, group messages, whatever it is.

I saw an interesting interaction about this a little while ago after the tragedy of Notre Dame burning down. Having visited the monument as both a historian and a tourist, I was obviously disheartened by the fire and the fact that a lot could not be saved.

“Moreover, this affects children of colour and women of colour disproportionately as well as the vulnerable, because they are perceived as somehow ‘exceptional.’”

However, someone had taken the opportunity to take a picture of what appears to be a father, and their son and share are far and wide across the internet through twitter in order ‘to get it to them.’ Neither seems to have been POC, but still, they are human, and it is obvious that no permission was sought and that even if the parent was happy to receive the picture, in the end, there was really no other choice. It was out there. In this vein, someone had posted on a public platform Instagram that was this not strange? For someone to think it was okay to take a picture of a parent and a child? And it was interestingly an exchange between two women. ( I blocked out their usernames) The other had turned vitriolic in the face of someone asking why it was an acceptable act to commit, which you can see in the picture provided. But my question is, why is it? No organisation can publish something without permission.

Why are individuals who now stand to gain any different?

Why do people like this without looking at the background and context? And should not be mindful consumers of content? You cannot feel it when someone takes a picture of you without asking. But if you do not want it happening to you. Why would you support someone who is exploiting an image of another? Especially now that most of us are stuck indoors, and perhaps using social media more than ever.

An Ambivert Coping With Quarantine Written by: Chau Tang

Chau Tang is a Beauty Columnist for Overachiever Magazine. She graduated from Cleveland State in May 2019 with a Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and a minor in Marketing. She loves to read about beauty, news, and political issues. Other than writing, she enjoys reading, watching Netflix, boxing, hiking, and photography.

She wants to write about beauty, news, arts and entertainment and political issues.

She also enjoys listening to podcasts about various topics like politics and true crime. A couple of fun facts: She was born and raised in Cleveland, can speak English, Vietnamese and a bit of Mandarin Chinese. She’s an only child and is an avid video gamer.

Since we’re in quarantine, you would think it would be a young person’s dream day. Staying at home, watching TV, reading, doing everything you’ve always wanted to do. I’m an ambivert so I don’t mind staying at home but it does mess with my mental health.

It’s terrible that people are dying from the corona virus so it would make sense the government orders us to stay home. With advanced technology, we are able to do online classes, learn a new hobby, communicate with friends, and some of us have the benefit of working from home.

Sleep Schedule With no work, most people are sleeping in. It’s great in theory but that also means most people are staying up late to sleep in. Our beds are so comfortable that we don’t want to get up. That can contribute to our lack of motivation to do anything else. It messes up my sleep schedule so much that even if I wanted to sleep earlier, it would take me a couple days to get used to it. What you can do is to turn off your phone after 9 PM and read a book or do something that doesn’t require a screen.

I turn off my Wifi once 9 PM hits and when I’m about to sleep, I set a timer in Tide. Naturally, I wake up everyday at 7 AM even if I slept late the night before. I love using Tide because it creates sounds we can fall asleep to such as rain, crickets, soothing instrumental music and a TV static. For a much more effective sleep, I turn the volume up just a little bit instead of full volume. That way, I can concentrate on sleeping while it can play in the background.

Emotions This has gotten me mixed with so many emotions. I’m glad I get to stay at home with my parents and we are bonding even more.

It also makes me feel blessed that I still have my health and friends to chat with. Thank goodness for technology so I can Facetime my relatives in different countries. It’s great to be able to communicate with people but the way strangers are treating each other seems a bit different.

It’s a technique where you use a time to break down work into intervals such as 15 minutes, 25 minutes, etc. There are a lot of apps that can help you! I use Forest, Flora, Tomato Timer, Plantie and Ameilia TImer!

If you are a graduate or will graduate, this is the perfect time to go online and perfect your resume and cover letters. You have time on your hands, so go ahead and at least search a couple jobs and apply! Granted, not many places are hiring but it never hurts!

Of course, there are other people who have gotten it way worse but it seems like the way people are treating each other has changed.

Now, when you walk around your house or you’d go to a grocery store, in my experience, no one even smiles and says, “Hello,” anymore. We just walk on by. It’s obvious no one wants the virus but it seems like the way people are being treated has changed or perhaps it shows people’s true colors.

I am a homebody but I miss being able to go outside other than my house. I have tried to improve my resume and cover letters to find a full-time job. Then when you get rejected over and over, you feel like you haven’t done enough or you’re not really qualified so it messes with your head and thinks you’re not good enough. Then you’ll feel really sad and worthless. I have three side jobs now and I’m so grateful for it but because of my lack of creativity these days, or so it feels like, I keep overthinking and wondering, “Will this be good enough?” or “Why is this such trash?” I am a Virgo after all and we are perfectionists and analytical.

My side jobs are all online so my eyes are glued to my computer screen for hours without breaks, which isn’t great because my eyes are being strained. That’s my own fault. Being quarantined really allows you to take care of yourself. Take it one step at a time. Sometimes I’ll use the pomodoro technique.

Skills There are some skills I’m still learning to develop, some consists of photography, drawing, skateboarding, and writing. I use Skillshare to learn from so I’m still absorbing information to stimulate my brain. I watch YouTube videos as well, especially about makeup, fashion, photography, and marketing. Just because I’m staying at home, doesn’t mean I can’t pick out clothes and try to mix and match them. I’ll use makeup when I’m home too. I purchased a lot of it so I need to feel like I’m not wasting it.

I’m using Pinterest and Google to learn how to draw as well. I would like to say I’m improving at least a little bit.

I’m still learning more about skateboarding but I only skate in my driveway. I miss going to a park and/or a skatepark. Just have to remember it’s only temporary.

Apps To Download While In Quarantine I have tried so many apps but I’ve also deleted many of them.

There are very few apps that can keep my interest. Here are a few of them.

If you’re looking for daily reminders and motivation then you can try Motivate. You can choose when you need motivation so if you need one for morning, before studying, before bed, lunch, etc, then you can pick when you need it and it’ll set a time or you can adjust the time for the app to send you reminders. The message in every video is inspiring and helps keep you focused.

The motivating message is a video. You can do what you need to do while listening to it like a podcast or you can focus your attention on the video. The video is just as powerful as the message.

This is a free app to download. Everyday you will receive 5 videos for free. There are inspiring quotes as well. You can favorite the quotes and videos so you can go back to them when you need it. There are other videos and playlist but you will have to purchase to unlock. Overall, it’s a nice app to start the day with.

WTHRD is the one of the cutest weather apps I’ve ever encountered. Once you’ve entered your location, it’ll show the weather with an adorable graphic and you can customize your character!

You can tap to see different scenarios such as seeing the weather right now, how it’ll be today in general, and what it’ll be like tomorrow! You can check it out in the app store and it is free.

Ever heard of Tik Tok? It’s the new craze! So many people are now on this app. I’ve been on Tik Tok almost everyday. It’s entertaining and there are so many talented people! It’s a similar concept to vine, if not the same. You make a video for 60 seconds or 15 seconds, you use someone else’s sound or use your own audio, use filters and effects and then BAM. There is your masterpiece!

I hope you’re all doing well during this time. We may be in quarantine but make use of this time to improve on yourself!

kyra butt

beyond distance

my eyes are half open, but I am content in my sugar-spun bubble, observed by potted plants, and I realise that life isn’t on hold, that we flower even when everything around us seems stagnant; look here an elderly woman just made a birthday wish over eight frosted candles, hands clasped together in excitement. and across the river bend an estranged father just whispered “I’m proud of you” to the son he hasn’t seen in two decades, and just down the road a chuckling toddler just learned How to walk With their two tiny feet. and me an ivory roof shelters my heavy head, my mother’s cooking fills my stomach, and with these hands, I still write. boxy cars speed by with places to be, but I am here with all that I need.

Asian Films to Watch While Social Distancing Written By Karenna Umscheid Karenna Umscheid is a Thai-American writer and high school student from Beaverton, Oregon. When she’s not studying or doing homework, she’s watching a movie, reading, rock-climbing, or thrifting. Some of her favorite movies are Goodfellas and I, Tonya, and her favorite book is Gone Girl. She hopes to one day be a journalist in Asia, run political campaigns, and write and direct movies.

INSTAGRAM: @karennaumscheid TWITTER: @itskarennau

Right now is a time to both stay inside and support Asian businesses. So order some Asian food, and stream some films made by Asian filmmakers and starring Asian actors. Here are some of my favorites!

If you haven’t been living under a rock, you may have heard of Parasite, Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho’s latest film and first Best Picture winner in a foreign language. It has recently been added to Hulu and is available to rent or buy on Amazon. Watch it, but go in without knowing anything about the plot. If you must, watch the trailer. But trust me - it’s incredible, and the less you know about it, the more you’ll enjoy it.

An underrated gem, also released in 2019, is Lulu Wang’s The Farewell. Inspired by her heart-wrenching true story, Wang’s film follows a Chinese-American woman who travels back to China when her grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. Her family stages an impromptu wedding to see their beloved Nai Nai, as she remains unaware of her condition. It’s a beautiful and heart-breaking story about the disconnect between the East and the West that resonated deeply with me. Watch it for free on Amazon Prime or Kanopy.

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 2018 film Shoplifters brought home the Palme D’or at Cannes Film Festival, and deservedly so. Shoplifters is an amazing story of an impoverished Japanese family who take in a young girl they found in the freezing cold, together making a living through petty crime and living happily for a while. This film is powerful and definitely tear-jerking, I don’t believe I could write anything that can do it justice, just please go watch it. Shoplifters is available on Hulu.

Sweet Bean is a splendid and touching film by Naomi Kawase about a Dorayaki shop owner who meets Tokue, an old woman who offers to help make the red bean paste that fills the Dorayaki. It’s a light and pleasant film about friendship and food. Watch it for free on Kanopy.

Kirsten Tan’s Pop Aye is an adventure along the Thai countryside through the eyes of a man going through a midlife crisis and his elephant, Pop Aye. He travels in search of his hometown, to return Pop Aye to his family. The visuals of rural Thailand in this movie are absolutely stunning. Watch it for free on Kanopy.

The 1993 film The Joy Luck Club, based on the Amy Tan novel of the same name, is an incredibly moving story about the bonds between Chinese mothers and daughters. It’s a little dated, but the ideas and emotion are timeless. It’s a tragic and honest look at family and history. Rent it on Amazon, and watch with your mom.

Remember that Asian businesses are struggling right now, so do what you (safely) can to help keep them alive. Order from local restaurants or buy your necessary groceries at Asian grocery stores. Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay home if you can!

Connection in Seclusion Written By: Christy Litz

Christy Litz is a graduate of Furman University and will be starting law school at the University of South Carolina this fall. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, and photography.

INSTAGRAM: @thelitzybitzyspider First things first: To overworked healthcare providers and researchers, thank you; to essential employees and delivery services, thank you; to restaurants who continue to stay open for taking out, thank you. You all are the real heroes of this worldwide catastrophe.

Three months ago, I doubt that many people had the foresight or understanding of what COVID-19 would incur. Humans are social by nature – we desire connection. Hence, this social distancing, while necessary, presents a tangible challenge for a society predicated on people’s ability to go and to be. We’ve heard the messages “Don’t lose hope” and “We will get through this” ad nauseam, and these messages are consequentially essential, but we don’t do well with idleness or solitude.

However, in today’s era of technology, the capacity to truly be alone has dwindled significantly. It’s not the same as being in the same room with someone.

Nowhere close, in my opinion. But when the innate desire to be close with family and friends must be denied, for the health and safety of the commonwealth, technology becomes a godsend.

Take the time to scroll through your phone contacts. (I know… who does this anymore?) Who have you lost touch with? To whom did you promise a meal or drinks, but never followed through? Reach out to them. In all likelihood, they’re in a similar situation – working from home or suddenly relegated to online classes. This time is a wonderful opportunity to rekindle lapsed friendships.

To the students who lost the rest of their school year: I’m sorry, and I understand the whirlwind of emotions that will follow. Hopefully, you’re home, safe, away from the risk of infection. If your online classes have begun or will resume shortly, you may be struggling to determine a home-academic balance. However, there is still a group of students that are caught in perpetual limbo – displaced and alone. International students now face a critical choice: potentially stay on a deserted campus with little to no provisions or attempt to return home. American students might mope about staying home or worse, don’t, while some international student’s sole, unfulfillable wish is to go home.

Now is the time to extend a virtual hug. Ask international students how they are doing, if they have a place to stay, will they have access to resources and necessary provisions. It might seem strange to you, but I promise no one will spite you for genuinely trying to show that you care. In the midst of our seclusion, I challenge you to brighten someone’s day. Call or message the friend that you’ve neglected, the international student you’ve never spoken to, the elderly neighbor you haven’t seen in a while. Let the revival of friendship fill you with joy and remind you that we are all connected.

Unprecedented levels of fear, uncertainty, and anxiety must be met with unprecedented levels of love, empathy, and kindness.

Godspeed to those searching for treatment, wisdom to those in positions of authority, unshakeable strength, and resilience to those on the front lines, and a peace that passes understanding to all of humanity.

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