“Growing up, I loved to look at people.  I loved to take care of the things that I could. I didn’t take many risks, but still had fun.  I loved to love others."

What do you love about yourself? “I am able to enable groups of people to let go of their worries and be creative on their instruments! I am optimistic to a fault.”

“As a peacemaker, what motivates me are the children—their innocence and vulnerability remind me why peacemaking is important.”

"Starting in late 2014 , I lost my best friend (sudden death), then my job, then my mother (cancer), in the space of 8 months. I am a very resilient person, but that really tested me.”

"The last few years have given me a thread of reality to weave into the trees and the soil, allowing me to feel more on the earth.  Perhaps raw, vulnerable in emotion, which for some may relate to as stress, overwhelming and intense.  These feelings have brought me to be a bit more jaded, so I was then on a whole different side of the spectrum.  Having realized it, I believe it is now a practice to be in the midline.  Embrace the contentment of being human and walking the path of the yogi, searching for self-realization."

"I am thankful to that one guy who told me to never be complacent, to always continue learning and challenging myself, and to love myself… Thank you for lighting that fire beneath my ass because the beautiful and graceful Uyen has come back!"