To colliding worlds. 

 

I’ve been thinking a lot recently

about mutual interests—

and how they shape compatibility.

 

Looking back now at my most recent dating experience with James,

I realized we actually didn’t have anything in common.

 

And yet,

I was still willing to make it work.

 

I’m the kind of person who finds peace in silence,

in stillness.

Someone who writes, reads, plays games,

goes on long, quiet walks and hikes

just to hear my own thoughts echo.

 

But James—

James is more of the party type.

Always on the move.

Brunches, lunches, dinners.

Art galleries, shows, parties, raves,

and trips that make your passport ache.

 

We were two people

in two different worlds.

 

And it doesn’t mean we were incompatible.

It just means

we had to try and understand each other’s world a little more.

 

To learn what makes the other person tick—

what drives them

to wake up in the morning

and chase whatever sets their soul on fire.

 

For a while, I tried to do that with James.

Tried to understand his love for travel,

why his friends meant the world to him.

 

And in return,

James tried to understand why I love gaming so much.

Why I lose myself in singing.

Why my Vietnamese roots feel like an anchor

and a flame

all at once.

 

Today, I’m talking to someone new.

His name is Phil—short for Phillip, with two Ls.

And we’ve already found a few shared interests.

 

Gaming, for one.

 

We’ve both done a personal training course in the past.

We have overlapping hobbies—

writing, reading,

a love for reflection and movement that comes from the same place.

 

And it’s made me think about how easy it is to connect

when someone mirrors your interests.

How conversation flows without effort.

How you feel seen—not just heard—

because you speak the same language

without needing translation.

 

It’s the same way I’d connect with another Vietnamese person if we were dating.

There’s an understanding

woven into the details

of how we move through the world.

 

But I still believe—

deep in my bones—

that two people

completely different

can still find love through mutual understanding.

 

And that, to me,

is a philosophy I’ll carry with me

for the rest of my life.