Dear Younger Fred… the thing that made you feel different will become your strength
This week is Lunar New Year.
And growing up, that used to feel complicated.
You were one of the only Asian kids in your school.
You remember looking around the classroom and thinking:
Why do I look so different?
Why are my lunches different?
Why are our traditions so different?
Why does my home life feel worlds apart from everyone else's?
Why don't I fit in?
You'll carry that quietly for years.
You'll think being different is something to minimize.
Something to smooth out.
Something to hide just enough to blend in.
But then… something shifts.
On weekends, you'll practice lion dance with others from the Chinese community.
The drums.
The rhythm.
The discipline.
The teamwork.
You'll remember the first time you stepped into the costume and realized:
Wow… this is special.
This is ours.
This is unique.
For the first time, different didn't feel isolating.
It felt powerful.
And years later, when you perform publicly — on the stage of Canada — you'll feel something come full circle.
You'll realize how fortunate you are to live in a country that allows cultures to be celebrated, not erased.
That diversity isn't something to shrink from — it's something to stand in.
And that's when it clicks.
In a world where so much is duplicated —
same resumes, same scripts, same personalities —
your difference becomes your edge.
The cultural lens.
The resilience.
The ability to move between worlds.
The understanding of both tradition and adaptation.
It doesn't make you less.
It makes you layered.
And here's the deeper truth:
Although none of us are identical,
almost everyone knows what it feels like not to belong.
The athlete in the wrong crowd.
The introvert in the loud room.
The new hire in the boardroom.
The immigrant in a new country.
The parent in a new season.
Belonging is something we all quietly wrestle with.
So if you're reading this and feeling out of place right now —
I know it's hard to see.
But the thing that makes you feel different
may one day become the thing that makes you indispensable.
Baaaaam — that's it for today.
Happy Lunar New Year.
Stay curious,
Fred
