Someone once told me, "Peng, you are totally empty. Have you ever made a decision by yourself?"
For a long time, I carried that "empty" label like a heavy shadow. It made me feel confused, especially when I knew how hard I was working, how much I was giving.
But then, I realized something.
Choosing to be someone's friend is a decision. Choosing to stay kind even when being underestimated is a decision. That feeling of being "empty" wasn't a lack of self—it was a space I was keeping open for the world to flow through.
Their judgment was about their perspective, not my reality.
Since 2018, when I first stepped into the Bologna Children's Book Fair, I have been filling that space with my own choices, my own lines, and my own colors.
I am not empty. I am a vessel.
2026/01/21
