"My Mother Calls Me," published by Brevity Magazine
“When my brother and I were little, my mom wrote our names in Korean on the Christmas presents so that, when we woke up extra-early on Christmas morning and snooped through the gifts under the tree, we wouldn’t know which gifts were ours. I remember how her slender back would bend over the gifts under the lighted tree to read what only she could, and we were breathless with anticipation until the moment my mom placed the gift directly in our hands. My name written phonetically in Korean:
미셸
I wonder if this is how my mom sees my name in her head. Or does she only see my face. Or maybe she sees nothing at all.”
View the full poem here: https://brevitymag.com/nonfiction/my-mother-calls-me/
In Collaboration with TEDxJeffersonU
In May 2023, Michelle presented a TEDx Talk at Jefferson University. The presentation is called "Let Hearts Love. Let Hearts Live." The presentation is about opening our hearts and adopting a loving energy toward each other as human beings—of affirming the humanity of others and in turn affirming our own humanity through compassion and love.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
