3 min read blog

Happy 30 to me!

Happy 30 to me!
✨ time to spill some tea
Friday 26 September 2025 📆

It is so strange to step into a new decade. I used to think 30 was the end of my youth. Now that I’m staring at this number, it feels silly. I don't feel older, but I know I am wiser.

Here are 30 random things I’ll leave with you: 

1- Drink water! 💦 right now - go drink a glass of water! 

ACTIVISM & COMMUNITY WORK 🏴

2- Do not give all of yourself to “the work”, always preserve 10% (time/energy/capacity) for the peoples you love. Your peoples will make sure you take care of you! 

3- If everyone is in full agreement with each other, find new people to learn from, be inspired by, to have constructive heated discussions with! 💬 

4- Holding fellow activists accountable is not distracting from the mission, it is putting your values into action.

5- It is too easy to cut people off because of one mistake or bad decision. Even when it is uncomfortable and hard, it is (sometimes) worth it to repair, rebuild, and heal. 

6- Disruption does not have to be chaotic or grand events. It can be wearing a political button, saying aloud something unspoken, or practicing refusal. 

7- Community is a counter to individualism, building strong interdependent relationships is the key to success. 🫶🏼

8- Equity must be centred in every thought, discussion, and action. No one left behind. 

9- Don’t debate conspiracy theorists, fascists or bigots. Debate is not deprogramming, it only serves to embolden and platform hateful. 

SUSTAINABILITY 🌳

10- Learn how to thrift! There are *very* few things I buy new nowadays. 

11- LIBRARIES! 📚 

12- Contribute to your local ecology: plant native plants, put out a water dish, use natural pesticides instead of chemicals. 

13- When things break, try to repair, repurpose, or recycle before throwing it in the trash. ♻️ 

14- Reducing consumption, waste, and pollution at an individual level will not end the environmental crisis, but it shouldn’t stop you from trying!

15- Climate justice is land back. Land back is climate justice. 

16- All things on earth are victims to capitalism’s endless pursuit of profit. Advocate for the organisms that cannot speak for themselves. 🌳🐝🦈

SURVIVING CAPITALISM 📊

17- A job is a job. In this exchange of commodities - your labour in exchange for paycheques - you are not obligated to give your loyalty to the employer. 

18- Start your first day with a task tracker, take time weekly to update the tracker.

19- If your boss says: “This workplace is like a tight-knit family!” 💨 RUN 🏃🏻‍♀️ 

20- Nothing is real until it is in writing. 

21- @ the office workers: Move your body everyday: stretching at your desk, going for a walk outside at lunch, taking a class at the gym. 

22- Work-related burnouts and trauma will follow you for life. Spot the warning signs of a toxic workplace, get out before it’s too late. 

23- Coworkers are not always your friends. 

24- Read every single sentence of your contract, collective agreement, benefits plan, and maximize the resources available to you. 

25- Never stop upskilling. 

26- Niceness is overrated. However, always be kind. 💛

27- Boundaries are your personal limits.  Expectations are assumptions you set for others. Know the difference. 

28- You don’t always have to explain yourself. Some people are just not interested. 

29- Only you can advocate for yourself. But you can - and should always - advocate for those less fortunate and privileged than you. ✊🏼

30- End every conversation as if it would be the last conversation with that person.

Happy birthday to me 🎉 

P.S. If you would like to celebrate with me, I invite you to donate to Hong Kong media and community organizations.

Welcome to Kong Girl Socialist's Yum Cha 飲茶 series — a flexible short-form blurb where I drop mini essays, reflections, and commentary. 

Afternoon tea is a daily ritual of many Hongkongers! Not only to physically sip hot tea while munching on a snack, Yum Chat are social activities to 吹水 chit chat with your friends 🫖