The Insight Out

🧧 Have you ever heard how we appreciate others' success only as much as we appreciate ours? This concept holds particular significance among second-generation Filipino immigrants residing in Hong Kong, who grapple with the ingrained sense of 'utang na loob' towards their parents. Navigating the delicate balance between honoring their expectations of what a life with success should entail and pursuing one's personal aspirations can be daunting. "Yes, Career is important. But family and friend...

🥂 "New Year, New Me" has become an overused and overrated phrase, often leaving us less motivated to set our resolutions effectively. In fact, a 2025 Forbes study revealed that nearly half of the respondents abandoned their resolutions by February, and less than ten percent stuck with them throughout the year. "A lot of people are just appeasing an anxiety. I feel like it [too]. Like they're not doing enough - or not feel like they are enough... It's a constant cycle of comparing." (Sicuan,...

"But 'with great power, comes great responsibility' and once you recognise your privilege: what can you do with it? That's where the magic happens." (Vicera, 2024) 📚 Christine, co-founder of Be/longing HK works in academia and found her position in the social impact space of the city. Her professional work has supported her community activities by empowering them to tell their stories through photography and writing. As a researcher and collaborator, she highlights what privilege is composed...

🎭 "I have to remind myself you can cure it later on - it doesn't have to [be/look/feel] right, right now. " (Rivera, 2023) 🎨 🏋️ Felix Rivera lives a life surrounded by creativity and creative expression. As an Associate Music Director for [redacted], he shares about the importance of letting loose and the imperfect journey that is every artist/creative walks along. 🔎 Felix's Instagram: - https://www.instagram.com/felixaaronrivera 💡 His body of experiences in the performing arts, graphic d...

"Since you have the freedom of doing other things, you don't have the freedom to look for yourself. You are subjected to do things that other people are doing." (Lang, 2023) Malcolm Lang highlights the experiences where he felt (little t) trauma* - and wounds created from the "grind" culture in Hong Kong, the shift away from traditions, and the crowds in social media. We recognise how this focus on everything and wanting to be everywhere, all at once, affects the free (emotional) capac...

"The essence of travelling, the way I see it, is just going to a place that is unfamiliar. I have not met anybody who has been to every corner of Hong Kong." (Grospe, 2022) Aljon Rae Grospe identifies as an introvert, and challenges himself to travel solo to Thailand for the summer of 2022. We talk about how "being wild" or behaving in a way that's not usually yourself can help you find your truest self. Take in the stories where we're at the mercy of strangers and being hu...

"It's not really a description of a specific flavour, but more of an experience; a memory." (Mel, 2021) Mel P is a Hong Kong based tea enthusiast whose early introductions to tea helped brew her current career and love for tea and tea culture. Volunteering and now working with Plantation Tea House by teakha has opened opportunity for her to connect with patrons and connect with the production processes of tea. Despite being fluent in British and Chinese tea cultures, she aspires to dig deepe...

"Whatever job, business - or whatever I do - if I died tomorrow: would people remember me for my job or me as a person? If you take me out of my job, would others still see me as the individual that I am - it's about how you make people feel." (Yeung, 2021) Dan Yeung is a Hong Kong based personal trainer who founded DoughbyDesign, an Instagram doughnut shop that utilised their tools to conceptualise and create baked goods that brought joy to the Hong Kong netizens. Despite putting this endea...

"Therapy is for everyone, and it comes in different forms - you don't have to spend for that. But you also have your friends, it's important to reflect why can't you share with your friends?" (Puentespina, 2021) Dea Puentespina is a Psychology Enthusiast. Being raised in a family of medical professionals, this study piqued her when she wanted to understand "why" people behave the way they do. She highlights the importance of awareness, of breaking the stigma and alternative approaches that i...

"I like things simple. There's no going back [with technology, or trends]. But when it comes to clothes - you can stick to your roots and show which era you're from." (Caceres, 2021) Rustom Caceres is a Thrift Head. He had developed an appreciation for clothing and vintage fashion earlier in his life. This allowed him to stay ground against the endless voids of fashion trends that our world continues to promote. He illustrates the thrifting scene in Hong Kong, and recounts the experiences he...

"When you're in a performance you don't really need to [always] feed off the audience reaction - you're doing for yourself." (Urbano, 2021) Jose Urbano is a Hong Kong based street dancer that currently competes and teaches funk to the youth of the city. He describes the moments when he first entered a dance cypher, and the energy that you work with when dancing with another soul. How his intense connection to music pushed him to this form of expression - through movement. No matter how...

"It lets us take a step back, with how fast we want everything to be. It's also tapping into your creativity - it's not just writing." (Madrid, 2021) Ajel Madrid stans K-Pop music and through this, was able to find her way to penpal letter writing. Despite being Gen Z: being born when the Internet and information boomed, still found the allure of this form of communication. Stepping out of her boundaries and updating another soul whom she's never had physical contact with, presents a t...

"Connecting to people and their mindsets, that enables you to tap into the scenes and moments that are more alien...You'll collect these things and eventually down the road, you have to play XYZ, but you'll have ABC - as close as you can to doing that." (Urmeneta, 2021) Miguel Urmeneta is a Hong Kong based Actor-Performer who fell into the rabbit hole of theatre for his initial interest in voice acting. His experiences have taken him to imaginative and dark roles. His career, despite the pan...

"The first step is to call myself out. I will admit from the get-go: I am uncultured ... It's a balance of matching what I know [about food] with what I don't know and how I can bring that together. " (Chavez, 2021) Bryan Chavez is a Hong Kong based English Teacher whom spends his leisure finding eatery gems around the city. Not only does he use his 'pun prowess' but his finite knowledge of culture and narrative, to connect with the owners/staff of the eateries he visits. Bryan and I a...

"Would you rather get Ube Pandesal from the bakery, or the buns that your Lola has just made?" (Escueta, 2021) Definitions: Ube = Purple Yam that originates from the Philippines; earthy and starchy flavoured;Pandesal = Common Filipino bread using local flour, making the bread softer from it's inspiration, the French baguette;Lola = Tagalog term for 'Grandmother'Ainna Escueta is a junior-year Philippines university student that had returned to Hong Kong due to the COV19 pandemic. Her connecti...