i wrote the sweet bean paste article last semester as a requirement for a school subject. It was November, which I remember to be the most mentally grueling part of the academic year. I was miserable, lonely, hurting, and for the most part confused. I felt lost and umhappy. I felt I was backed into a corner with no other options than to sit with my disappointments and regrets. count my losses, as I said. However, I also remember it as the last month before my year did a 180. Little did I know that right around the corner, my life was going to be so unrecognizable, I would know what to do with myself. It’s poetic, the timing of this book and of this article. There I was, talking about hope and second chances just as I was about to find mine. Finding this article again gave me the good creeps. I’m not spiritual or religious, I just like to be carried away, but this time it feels like something is smiling down on me and nudging me this article all cheeky.