What are the qualities that attract us to those we date? This question can be debated without ever reaching a conclusive answer, but to some people, the answer is actually quite simple.

It’s natural for people to characterize the people we meet into neat schemas, “A pattern imposed on complex reality or experience to assist in explaining it, mediate perception, or guide response” (dictionary.com), since that simplifies identification and file the information away for future reference.

Case in point: the Taiwan – China dilemma. The relationship between the two countries is so ambiguous at the moment, and politicians and citizens alike are quite content to leave it that way, putting it off ‘til tomorrow.

Our first edition of Halfway Magazine has been quite successful. We have received a lot of responses both good and bad. Many of these responses were very similar in opinion and thought, except for one which stood out amongst the rest.

I grew up in a small town in Malaysia. I have known all my life that after I finish high school, I would be heading overseas for further studies. When my father decided to send me to Perth (Australia), I was excited, but at the same time very sad to leave home.

Coming home to Singapore provided some reverse culture shock. As quickly as my skin grew more accustomed to the Singapore sun, my ears also gradually got used to the Singlish permeating public space. Which is to say, not very quickly.

It’s not so much that people occasionally speak loudly to me because they think that in doing so I’ll understand them better. It’s more that they don’t understand that even if I didn’t know a word of English, the volume of their voice makes zero impact on my comprehension.

In Wat Tham Krabok, a Hmong refugee camp in Thailand, many rushed to register for U.S. immigration before the deadline — and before the camp would finally close down. Thailand’s government had issued an ultimatum: to either move elsewhere or face forced repatriation to Laos.

The undertone of my skin is yellow, and always has been. I have not been a person to look deeper, to let my natural skin color speak. It wasn’t until later in life that I learned to understand, to look on other levels. I grew up in a suburban Southern state in America.