What Would Queenie Do?

Happy birthday to me! I’ve always felt bad about making a huge deal about my birthday, but I recently read @salmaelwardany ‘s birthday post which really put into perspective what and how we celebrate things in life. She says “It’s why I love birthdays. You get to stop, take a breath and raise your chin, look over your shoulder and say yes, I did all that.” Go read the caption in full – it is such an important statement of how and why we should live bravely.

So even though I’m not with loved ones celebrating this year, I’ve come so far from last year, and I’ve written a list of things that I want to do better so that next year I can look back and be proud of how far I’ve come again in another year.

This birthday has also made me a lot more reminiscent for things that I never realised I remembered.

This is actually my second birthday in lockdown (thank you SARS). I don’t remember much of the first birthday I spent in lockdown. However, I won’t forget my birthday this year:

• Because I want to recognise the amazing people that get me through when things aren’t rosy
• Because I want to honour those that are essential workers and working hard to keep the world going
• Because I want us to question and remember the decisions that were made that have led us to where we are today, and how we can, will, and need to do better as humankind moving forward

“A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory.”

– Mark Twain

With that said, I hope we go forward with an excellent memory (might have to borrow from elephants 🐘). For those that are keeping the world turning in this time, I see you, I love you, I thank you!

– Q 🖤

I feel like I’ve been going through the motions for some time. I was going to work for a job that I’m incredibly grateful for. I was working out at an amazing studio (hello Psycle), hanging out with awesome friends and the eternally patient boyfriend, seeing my family and actually enjoying it, but something was just missing.

I was introduced to the term Ikigai, which apparently has its roots in Okinawa. And apparently it’s one of the reasons Okinawa has the largest number of centenarians in the world…!

What is Ikigai?

This concept answers the age old question of “What gets you out of bed every day?”. To find that answer, you try and answer the following questions:

• What do you love?
• What are you good at?
• What can you be paid for?
• What does the world need?

There are many resources out there but the ones that I have found really useful were:

• An easy summary: Ikigai: A Japanese Concept to Improve Work and Life
• A deeper read: Ikigai: The Secret to A Long and Happy Life

How I use the concept of Ikigai

I hope that creating whatwouldqueeniedo will help me achieve my Ikigai, and ever since deciding that I wanted to create this place, I’ve felt it’s become easier to get up in the morning and to get through the day. You know that scene in Infinity Wars where Drax goes “Where is Gamora?“, then “Who is Gamora?“, then “Why is Gamora?“… I’ve asked myself repeatedly “Why is Queenie” albeit not as a muscly man who takes everything literally…

I had these realizations in a few stages:

1. I asked myself constantly honestly what I was missing from my life
2. When I knew which aspect was missing, I then talked to the people around me whom I knew loved me – friends, family, colleagues and asked them what they thought about me and why they loved me
3. Understanding who you are and what makes you so specially and uniquely you
4. So with that knowledge, what was I going to stop doing, keep doing, and most importantly start doing?

So, what are we doing here?

I’ve had many ideas about what to do and I started many projects to realise that they weren’t 100% right. It’s completely okay if not one thing ticks all the boxes, or if it takes you a while to get to what might be the best thing for you.

The most important thing is that you’re honest with yourself about what brings you joy and purpose, and this will constantly evolve as you grow older and wiser (or as we call it here, sage up).

The most important thing is that you’re honest with yourself about what brings you joy and purpose, and this will evolve as you grow older and wiser.

I think I’ve found a rebalance of my life with launching WWQD (but check in with me again in a few months – as I said it changes all the time!) and I want you all to get there as well through WWQD so that you know what makes you tick, what makes you special, and what makes you joyful and gives you purpose.

Want to join me on my Milano and epic playlist?

– Q 🌼

Hello, hi welcome to whatwouldqueeniedo!

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Queenie, a 27 year old female currently living in London. I was born in Hong Kong, raised in Singapore, came to the UK for university and have stayed here ever since.

I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while and thought that there was no better way to welcome into the world what I’ve been referring to as my ‘creative baby’ than my 27th birthday.

So, what are we doing here?

Here, we’re going to figure out together how to maximise avocado eating and minimise f*ck boy dealing. It’s tough enough being in your 20s as everyone knows, but to be a millennial as well?! We don’t stand a chance, do we?

I definitely don’t have all the answers but I think between us and the big wide web, chances are we probably will figure some of life’s questions out together. I’ll share what I know and have learnt, and hopefully you can do in kind for me too.

Solid, practical advice – no noise

I’ve personally struggled throughout my 20s with friendships that hurt me more than break ups have, relationships that meant so little to me that I started meaning that little to me too, arguments with family that I thought I couldn’t come back from, jobs that I loved but couldn’t stay in, getting into so much debt it would probably take me up to 7 years to pay it off. When I then tried to look for answers or at least some direction, I couldn’t find one place that helped me look at everything holistically. I’d find some amazing resources where I’d learn lots from, but also some that was neither useful nor practical, and occasionally I’d get peddled some product that I didn’t need and I knew they didn’t believe in either.

Finding fulfillment

Over the last few years, I’ve come to realise that in order to be happy and fulfilled (the ultimate life goal, no?), you need to come to terms with your relationship with friends, family, partners, work, and most importantly you. There are so many intricacies, nuances, facets and angles to look at all of it from – and there are so many useful resources out there that can help us grow. I want to share them with you and if there’s anything you think has been really life changing and useful for you too, do let me know and I can share it with everyone else.

Well I guess that’s a welcome – I can’t wait to see all of us glow up, bless up, and sage up together! 🌼

Lots of love,

– Q