Point to ponder: I am not an accident.
Verse: "I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born." Isaiah 44:2

Question to Consider: I know that God uniquely created me. What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?

It's Day 2 of my journey with Pastor Rick Warren and Day 1 of Chinese New Year. I've never been big on CNY celebrations, so I'm just taking it chill and waiting for the food to be ready. I visited the church columbarium at St Mary's for the first time in many years to give my prayers to my grandfather as well as my oldest uncle and aunt who've all chosen to place their ashes there. Today is going to be a relatively long day... I already have a slight headache because I didn't get enough sleep last night, and the heat in Singapore is truly suffocating. There's a virus from Wuhan that's made its way to Singapore and everyone's taking rather extreme precautions. If it wasn't for reunion dinners, I'd much rather stay home for the next few days and avoid social contact.

What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?

I've deleted my Instagram account 3 times since I created my first account in 2010. It started out as a photography collection of my life and travels, but over time as I started posting more photos of my work and performances, it made me very uncomfortable. I didn't know myself well enough to be able to accept the persona that I was presenting to others, and I didn't feel comfortable being responsible for the idea that others had of me.

I'm more confident now than I've ever been in my entire life - about my looks, my opinions, my personality and my abilities. I'm in a much healthier place mentally and emotionally - I've learnt to come to terms with my past and I have a much better understanding of how that has affected me and what I can do moving forward to ensure a brighter future for myself.

It will always be a journey; things don't naturally go away on their own. It takes hard work and consistent effort to be a self-loving person. I'm learning acceptance day by day and I'm slowly vanquishing all the demons that have plagued me. No more.