I think that this is probably, by far, the most difficult post I’ve ever had to write. Today marks 20 years since my dad has passed. I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was April 17th, 2001, and I was 20 years old, attending college at UC Davis. I was a sophomore in college when that one phone call at 1 am in the morning changed my life forever. Thinking back it almost seems like a blur to me. It was the most painful and most difficult time of my life. I was the oldest of three and my first instinct was to step up and make sure my family was ok. My younger sister Christine was 15 at the time and my youngest sister, Monica was only 10. At the time, I did everything a big sister should do – I put on a brave face and told my sisters that everything was going to be ok. No matter what, we’ll get through it together. But inside, my heart was completely shattered. I had lost my best friend and my father all in one night. I felt like I was in a nightmare I was desperately trying to wake up from. 

I’ve always had this theory, that everything happens for a reason. Even though I desperately wish that my dad was here with us today, the truth is, he isn’t, and that’s ok. Growing up my dad was very poor. He was one of seven siblings living in a cramped apartment in Hong Kong. When I was young, he always told me how he couldn’t afford to eat meat because he was so poor, so he decided to make it his goal to make money so that his family could eat whatever he wanted. After immigrating to the United States, my dad owned several restaurants and worked tirelessly to give us the life he had always dreamed of. He worked day and night, smoked cigarettes, drank a lot of alcohol, and ate whatever he wanted. And in the end, that’s what ultimately cost him his life.

Despite it all though, whenever my dad wasn’t working, he always made us his number one  priority. Even though he was always busy, he would find time to cook for us, play games with us, and have talks with us and teach us about life. He was always the life of the party and was always pulling pranks on us whenever he had the chance. He had the loudest laugh in the room and always hugged, kissed, and told us how much he loved us. 

When I started this blog 6 months ago, my goal was to inspire others to live a healthy life so that they never have to go through what I went through. There are many things in life we can’t control, but this we can. And if we pass on, we can go knowing that we did everything we can to be healthy not just for ourselves, but for our kids. When I look at our kids, I think about everything we want to be there for: watching them graduate college, get married, have kids of their own. That is why I am so passionate about health. 

To me, eating and living healthy doesn’t have to be hard. You can take it step-by-step. Changing your diet to incorporate more whole foods and less processed foods. This is especially important for our kids. We want to start them off on a strong foundation by starting them on good healthy habits. Staying active can be anything from going on a 20 minute walk to going for a bike ride, hike, or a run. Small changes will eventually become big ones. As long as you make your health your priority, you’re not just living for the moment, but you’re living for the future. As always, thank you for taking the time to read this. If this is your first time, I hope this post has inspired you in some way. And if you’ve been here since the start, thank you so much for your support. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about health. I am always here to answer your questions! Take care.

Love, Tiffany