My anthropology began as the daughter of an intensive care nurse and associate professor of clinical biochemistry. Whilst my childhood as one of four made for a cute polaroid; it was not-the-norm. Breakfast table discussions about stomach ulcer pathology (I was 9) and dissecting line-caught fish to expose eyeball anatomy informed early life.

Science aside, growing up Hungarian-Welsh-Chinese-Malaysian in 1980’s Australia, I was jammed between identity as Trojan of my ethnic heritage and reluctant participant in a fifth-generation game of ‘born-to-rule’. On one hand—migration and struggle for belonging, on the other—social climbing within patriarchy.  

More than once, I’ve asked myself—was my early obsession with travel a natural extension of this cross-cultural world? Or was it a mental escape from cognitive dissonance before the actual escape was possible? My continued fascination with the world ‘out there’ led to Space Camp; a haven for curious, nerdy kids. These early opportunities spurred me to call NASA for career advice (literally). This gave rise to my decision to study Medicine, with subsequent chapters spent working in sports and emergency medicine, corporate and public health.

This said, before there was a consult room, there was a dressing room. Part-time jobs in the fashion world during my university years funded international exploits and earned the nickname ‘flight-risk’. Between this and plowing through pharmacology and physics, my time was spent seeing the world and exploring rituals of expression through design.

In the stores of Ralph Lauren, Donna Karen and SABA I grew intimate with how people relate to their bodies, wallets—and society at large. I witnessed culture and emotion as major drivers of human behaviour. What makes sense doesn’t necessarily dictate how we decide. Humans identify with feelings—the embodiment of what we value. This nexus between emotion and reason has become the lens through which I experience truth, beauty and as Kirkegaard described it “the dizzying prospect of freedom”.