I made this dress specifically for Chinese New Year but due to my hectic schedule, I haven’t gotten a chance to actually blog about it. I’ve been wanting to write about where I stand on all the issues that are country is facing and I finally got a chance to do so this morning. I was raised by a conservative Christian family and you could say that I grew up in church so with that said I still do carry some conservative Christian values. However, seven years ago, I moved to the city of Los Angeles in order to pursue my dreams of becoming a fashion designer. In those seven years, I have experienced many things and my eyes have been opened on how cruel and unfair this world can be and some of my own personal beliefs have been greatly challenged. I’m not here to school anyone or try to change anyone’s stand on things. I am here to just let everyone know that at the end of the day, I was born to love and not to hate. That although, I don’t fully agree on some things that other people stand for or believe in — that alone will not make me hate a certain race, religion or gender. My religion isn’t going to dictate what someone’s personal affairs should or should not do. I will not force my belief on anybody but I will be here to love them because that’s what Christianity is all about. It’s about grace & freedom, not persecution & hatred. My brother asked me a few weeks ago, why am I so affected by all of these things happening to our country and why do I care so much? And my answer to him was: I just do. I feel. I care. I emphatize. So much. I live in a city where nothing is handed to me; where I still get cat calls for simply walking down the street; where I’ve loved people of color and found that some of the most wonderful and loving human beings are found in the LGBT community— where unity, love and grace is needed the most, where our rights as a woman shouldn’t be taken away from us, and where no one should feel like they’re second class citizens because of other people’s beliefs. With that said, no matter what some of my friends, family, church or President believes in, I will never stop believing that fighting for what is right is worth it because our voice matters.