Across Newsletter Nov 2022

Message from Executive Director

On November 13th, more than 560 guests attended the 20th anniversary of Across U Hub at our annual fundraising gala Anniversaries are a great time not only to celebrate the past, but also to look to the future.

Looking back over the past 20 years, "People" are the main element of Across' work. Participants come for our interactive and innovative activities, but they stay because of our “people”. When we describe “people”, we refer to a community where people are trusted and cared for. Young people can boldly show their strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to realize their potential and pursue their dreams.

"New Era. New Connection" is the theme of Across's next milestone. The challenges before us are undoubtedly daunting Awareness of young people's social and emotional growth is no longer just a matter of personal concern. Across U hub will face increasing demand and pressure for our activities and services, especially at this critical juncture full of changes and uncertainties, organizational strategies are underway to meet the needs of young people. We must now collectively apply our energy to adapt comprehensive and multi dimensional strategies that will engage people of all fields and ages who can walk alongside young people on their growing path.

Nicole Wong

Message from Executive Director

Although we focus on this new era, with new connections, we must never lose sight of it’s "People". Connections with each other and a safe communication environment are the key factors that brought us to where we are today We must learn from the experience of the past two decades, but not be bound by it. We must embrace bold action, new ideas and approaches, and most importantly, we must constantly reflect on our passions.

I look forward to you joining us on the next stage of our journey

Dressing Up and Getting Along with Friends

In a recent Coffee Bubble Tea Podcast episode*, I hosted a topic about the kinds of clothes we wear. From that conversation, I discovered something about my own upbringing. Somehow, that echoed with a movie discussion I wrote a few years back that touched upon how to interact with girls.

The connection: Young people should be guided to do these things earlier.

During the podcast conversation, cohosts Joyce and Tiff both talked about how they saw parents dressing up for different occasions and how their attire impacted their sense of self

In contrast, I grew up with loving parents who unfortunately never interacted with us on how we dressed My mom was very practically groomed: short hair, jeans and sweaters with no makeup. My dad was mostly in suits, shirts and long pants. He kept himself groomed, but not in a way relatable to a 10 year old kid.

Perhaps it is part of growing up as a boy in a Chinese family, that we always hear ‘boys shouldn’t spend time in front of a mirror’ or ‘男仔唔洗貪靚’ , which literally translates to ‘boys should not covet being good looking’.

It was not until later in life that I slowly learnt how we dress impact our sense of self, and how others see us And honestly speaking, high school students can be very unforgiving, avoid letting young people learn to dress through trial and error there.

Samson Wong

Dressing Up and Getting Along with Friends

It would have been great if someone could have talked to me about how to make decisions on what to wear.

Just as grooming oneself does not equal ‘covet good looking’, learning to get along with a girl does not mean trying to find a girl friend. However, speaking on behalf of the Chinese immigrant boys I grew up with, that assumption was ingrained in us

For us, it was always ‘boys don’t play with girls’. Even during high school, some of my friends and I would still find it uncomfortable to speak with girls, and the conversations would be strictly about school work.

Dressing up and interacting with people of other gender are not ‘inevitable’ They are the richness of life that young people experience as they grow up. We as parents, or people with experience, have a role to demonstrate and guide youth on how to engage in these activities in balanced and fruitful ways.

*To listen to the above episode: https://openspotifycom/episode/1KxFntSZF3IZxYXGBP vZnP?si=SULDLPtBRCWf8kg 1F8uag