Hello beautiful,

I’ll make you a deal: we won’t be talking about Phil today.

I’ve been chatting with this guy on Hinge. His name is Suf, and the really cool thing we’ve started doing is sending voice memos. He’s pretty good at texting too, but I wanted to use voice more—to express my thoughts in a raw and intimate way—and he was on board with it from the beginning. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m learning piano and singing, which makes me more focused on sound these days, but he’s got a really great talking voice. Warm, safe, comfy. It’s the kind of voice I wouldn’t mind listening to while lying beside him in bed as he talks about his day.

I want to share something else with you, buddy. Our old man is going to tell us one day to let love surprise us. In the past, we’ve always dated people close by, and they’ve all been Vietnamese, haven’t they? Lately, I’ve been more open—to people who live further away, even to those from different backgrounds. It’s not because I think the local Vietnamese dating pool is limited. I just think the person we’ll fall for might not be who we expect. They might fall outside our age bracket, come from a different culture, or be something else entirely. I’m learning to open the door to whoever decides to walk through it and meet me where I am—with warmth and kindness.

And on that topic, we need to talk about appearance too. I’ve been pretty picky so far, swiping left or right based on looks. But I’m easing up on that now. Of course appearance matters, but we’ve known for a long time that it fades. That’s why we chose Kevin, isn’t it? Not because he was a model, but because he loved us more than anyone else did. When we’re old and wrinkly, only love will outlast what we look like. So now, I’m choosing based on how people make me feel. It’s as simple as that.

In other news, I think I’ll defer my singing lessons for a term. I’ve tried doing both piano and singing at once, and I’m struggling hard to balance the two. They’re both new to me, and I’m leaning more toward piano right now. The plan is to finish off this half-term with singing, take the remaining term off to focus solely on piano, and then resume both in term four. I think that’s a smart move. I’m still in the honeymoon phase with piano, and it’s already hard enough trying to remember where the F key is, let alone singing on pitch while I play. Let’s see where this messy ride takes us.

Love you, buddy.

Chat soon xx