📌【Starting this month, the English and Chinese versions of my Patreon posts will be published separately to improve readability】
🎉 Today is May 1st, Labor Day. Let’s pay tribute to all the hardworking laborers! Every achievement in this world is the result of countless workers’ collective efforts. May we all take pride in our identities as laborers!
For me, April was a time of transition and adjustment. My new full-time position at the Garden of Hope Foundation brought structure and fulfillment to my life, along with its share of challenges. On one hand, I’m fortunate to be in a friendly work environment (though there are still some structural issues to overcome, which I’ll tackle gradually). On the other hand, I’m trying to take care of my emotions while gently shaking hands with a “better life.” These efforts have yielded some results, and I want to share them with you.
🔁 April: A Month of Exciting and Intense Moments
4/10 | Returning to the Gender Education Lecture
Once again, I was invited to Tamkang University’s English general education class to serve as a gender education lecturer. In this class, I explained fundamental gender concepts from the beginning, discussed common misunderstandings about transgender individuals, and concluded with a gentle yet firm encouragement: Please retain humanity’s innate curiosity to understand those you have yet to know and to explore this fascinating universe—there’s still so much we don’t know.
Midway through the lecture, a student quietly brought in her transgender female friend. I saw her shyly greet me, and that moment was truly touching. Seeing another transgender person confidently speaking on stage, being respected and acknowledged, must have given her a sense of “Ah, I’m not alone.” I hope each of us can be gently embraced by such connections.
4/11 | Interview with Amnesty International
I was honored to be invited by Amnesty International to participate in a research interview. They are exploring the experiences of LGBT+ advocates in Taiwan who have faced online hate speech. As a transgender advocate, I’ve encountered such experiences more times than I can count. I shared, as systematically as possible, the networks, mobilization methods, and even potential resources behind Taiwan’s recent anti-gender movements. It was an honest and heavy conversation, but I believe it was very necessary.
4/13 | Launching a Confidential Part-Time Research Job
I’ve started a new part-time research job, but due to personal safety concerns, I can’t share too many details. What I can say is that it combines my expertise in information engineering with the issues I’ve long cared about, allowing me to think critically, take action, and earn a salary for doing what I love… it feels truly wonderful!
4/25 | “House in the Water”: An Unexpected Theatrical Impact
As I’m currently absorbing nutrients from various artistic creations, I initially thought of attending a play that day simply to support a friend’s complimentary ticket. I thought, “Since it’s a free ticket, why not go?” I assumed they might have invited me by collecting lists from various social welfare organizations. However, about twenty minutes into the play, I realized that one of the characters was a transgender individual, a detail not mentioned in the theater’s introduction (as I later learned from the theater manager, this was intentional).
I usually avoid works depicting transgender individuals because they often hit too close to home, too real, too painful. And I’m someone easily moved emotionally. That day, I couldn’t avoid it. From the moment I discovered the character’s identity, I cried through to the end of the performance. The play was incredible, blending sincerity, pain, humor, and a touch of surreal imagination. I now understand why people say “Tainanren Theater is at the pinnacle of Taiwanese theater”—I couldn’t agree more.
4/27 | Drag Show × DJ × Glow Fundraising: “Uranus Rising”
Our collaborative Drag fundraising event with Taboo returned! I once again served as a DJ, joined by three other charismatic DJs and Drag Show performances—the atmosphere was electrifying!
A friend currently working on a documentary came to help with filming, finally capturing footage of me seriously DJing on stage (I must say, I looked quite cool). This video is exclusively available to paid supporters!
This event also successfully raised several months’ rent for our transgender case, Anna. Who would have thought that the ones ultimately supporting her would be our tiny transgender group?
🎨 Creative and Artistic Adventures: Moving Slowly but Earnestly
4/26 | New Taipei City Art Museum × Cloud Gate’s “13 Tongues”
As a student of Cloud Gate Dance School, I wouldn’t miss the performance of “13 Tongues.” Although I only saw the exterior and the performance, without the chance to explore the museum, I’ve already added the New Taipei City Art Museum to my “must-visit” list!
Every movement on stage amazed me. I even recognized some moves taught by our instructor during class! At that moment, I felt my body’s memory quietly accumulating. Perhaps one day, I’ll stand on that stage too.
🎙️ “Trans Sunday” to Resume Updates
April was incredibly hectic, leaving me no energy to update my Podcast/YouTube channel. But that doesn’t mean I’ve given up. I’ve already recorded an interview with a friend and written a script for a special episode based on my true story. In fact, after finishing this Patreon report today, I’ll see if I can complete the special episode!
What surprised me was that, despite having only 39 subscribers, three different people asked me this month, “Have you stopped updating?” That feeling was truly heartwarming.
🏛️ Taiwan Transgender Museum Concept Takes Shape: Realm of Luminous
The transgender museum project I’ve been contemplating for a long time is finally taking shape. It’s named “Realm of Luminous,” and the website’s Chinese version is now live: lumirealm.org. It’s not fully public yet; perhaps I need to muster a bit more courage before officially announcing, “This is my project.”
We’re planning to start collecting submissions in June for our first exhibition, “Our Story,” aiming to invite the community to co-create and document our stories. I hope this can become the starting point for the first transgender museum in the Asia-Pacific region.
🎭 Theater Creation: “People with No Name”
This is a stage play I’ve been conceptualizing since last year, telling the story of a transgender individual’s birth, self-reflection, exile, and rebirth. Originally titled “Woke,” I’ve now renamed it “People with No Name.”
If we consider transgender individuals as a tribe, this tribe has no name, no culture, no history, and no recognized rights. Through this work, I aim to depict a journey of fragmentation and reassembly.
The storyline now includes not only the life story of a transgender person but also incorporates elements of humor and absurdity borrowed from various theatrical works.
What will this work ultimately look like? I don’t know yet. But I believe this “tribe” will gradually develop its own story.
🧠 ADHD and Relearning to Coexist with My Brain
Some of my friends know that I have ADHD. In certain aspects, this has been a bit troubling—like when I plan something but can’t follow through, or when unforeseen reasons disrupt my intended schedule.
Take something everyone has to deal with—financial planning. Most people might divide their income into fixed expenses, food, utilities, entertainment, and so on, and once a budget is used up, that’s it. But I’ve tried this method countless times, and more often than not, I end up frustrated because of “unplanned spending,” “occasional overspending,” or “things I never accounted for.” This leads me into spirals of, “I didn’t plan for this, now my plan’s ruined,” or “I spent impulsively again,” or “I shouldn’t have planned at all.”
That was until I found a solution—or more accurately, something I discovered while discussing adult ADHD with AI.
Since late April, when I started budgeting, I added “pocket money,” “flexible funds,” “contingency account,” and “reserve buffer” to my usual categories. These buffer accounts are layered to give me room to breathe in everyday spending. It makes me feel like I’m genuinely sticking to a plan—most importantly, without as much frustration.
Now, some might ask: “If you need flexibility, why not just add a buffer within each budget item? Like raise your food budget from 10,000 to 12,000 NTD?”
But here’s where ADHD’s forgetfulness and emotional sensitivity kick in. Let me walk you through how our brains differ:
For most people, seeing a 12,000 NTD budget might trigger a mental note like, “I’ll try to stay around 10,000 and leave the extra untouched.” So, they naturally pace themselves—say, spend about 330 NTD per day.
But for me, I need to mentally split that into a 10,000 NTD food budget plus a 2,000 NTD flexible fund. That way, I still get the same daily estimate (~330 NTD), but when I suddenly want to try something different, grab an extra drink, or eat a late-night snack, I know I can dip into the flexible fund. Most importantly:
I don’t have to worry about ruining tomorrow’s budget.
Normally, when someone overspends in one meal, they’ll adjust the next. But emotionally, that “I didn’t follow my plan” feeling quickly spirals for me. With the flexible category, if I overspend by 70 NTD on one meal, I don’t deduct it from the next meal—I pull it from the flexible fund. And that emotional storm is avoided.
Since switching to this system, I’ve noticed a huge drop in my anxiety around money. When I record my expenses daily, I’m often surprised—“Wait, I still have money left?”
That little surprise turns into motivation. It makes me feel like, hey, maybe this plan actually fits me.
Sure, by realistic standards, I’m far from financially free. But because I’ve finally found a planning method that works for my brain, that sense of comfort and safety honestly feels just as good as freedom.
❤️ Final Thoughts: Thank You All
At the end of June, I’ll be moving again. It’ll be a significant expense, but with my current financial planning structure, I already have enough space to handle it calmly.
Thank you to every single one of my Patreon supporters. You’ve supported me through my creative journey, life experiments, and front-line advocacy work. Your presence makes me feel seen, cared for, and trusted.
See you in June!