Words

I didn’t plan to say but needed to.

Somewhere between ennui and spark, my raw, unfiltered bits are here.

I’m a nerdy girl with a pen—the type who always carries a black Pilot Precise V5, has read thousands of books, and still scribbles in the margins. Sometimes I’m just writing back to an author who’ll never read it.

Maybe one day, all these scribbles will grow into books of their own.

Letting You Go
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

Letting You Go

So I light a candle and let it glow. For the love I gave and still won’t outgrow.

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Love: Spark and Ash
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

Love: Spark and Ash

Love is the origin of every masterpiece and every tragedy. To love is to walk the edge of fire: beautiful, dangerous, and utterly alive.

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Dating Zoo Survival Guide
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

Dating Zoo Survival Guide

This follow-up is in response to the viral post “Welcome to the Dating Zoo: 10 Creatures to Left-Swipe.”

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My Own Child
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

My Own Child

I am my own child. I feed her well. I let her sleep in. I’m raising a woman who is deeply herself, with or without a title.

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The Magic of Being Seen
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

The Magic of Being Seen

A story about two fish—and a reminder that sometimes, all it takes is one kind eye to light the way through the storm.

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The Confidence Myth
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

The Confidence Myth

Confidence isn’t something you’re born with or magically wake up to one day. It’s something you build—slowly, with honesty, and a little grace.

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The Voice Inside
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

The Voice Inside

Learn how to recognize and trust the quiet voice inside you, even when life feels messy or your mind is full of questions.

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You Are the Reason
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

You Are the Reason

Her eyes met mine, no need to speak—

The way her light made me no longer seek.

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The Good Woman Has to Die
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

The Good Woman Has to Die

Some of us spend years trying to be the “good woman”—quiet, selfless, endlessly accommodating. But goodness is never the goal. Wholeness is.

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The Illusion of Infinite Wisdom
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

The Illusion of Infinite Wisdom

I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on—novels, shampoo bottles, even dictionaries. This is a reflection on how I learned to let thousands of books shape me without letting them define me.

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White Space
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

White Space

White space isn’t empty. It’s a dare. Blank doesn’t mean broken. It means you get to write something new.

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Unlived
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

Unlived

Not every life fits in the photos we envy. But this one that is imperfect, handmade, and loved was never second-best.

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Drunk on Beauty
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

Drunk on Beauty

A floating bath—blue crisp water, white soft petals, orange slices like tiny suns.

I don’t just notice beauty. I savor it.

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Hard Pills
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

Hard Pills

The world doesn’t reward softness—it exploits it. These 12 hard pills aren’t meant to harden you, but to wake you up.

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First Love
Vanessa Liu Vanessa Liu

First Love

She danced like everything was beginning again. She is the river that still flows in me.

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Snapshots of now, reflections to carry.