Siew Lian's Couch: Everyone Needs Their Couch Comforts

From her video: Siew Lian "One Sunday & My Couch", one is able to see Siew Lian in one of her most vulnerable states. This state is something that we all may have trouble showing to others, but it is an important one nonetheless. The state I am referring to is one of being human. It is a state that we very much like to hide from the rest of society, especially during such a time when the world is becoming more interlinked and the pace of development is growing exponentially. But is a state of being that cannot be forgotten and should be nurtured.

Siew Lian is obviously a filial daughter and a hard worker, but it is also refreshing to see this go getter survivor's softer, more human side. For Siew Lian, one of the items in her life that serves as a holy grail of rest and refreshment is her office's couch. As Siew Lian relaxes on her couch, one can almost see the tension leave her.

It is a refreshing site, in my opinion, due to this habit/action being something that everyone does/needs. For myself, it is hard for me to find this "couch comfort". I live faraway from my family in a country that is definitely not my own. Finding those creature comforts for me can be expensive, hard to find, or down right impossible. But it is through Siew Lian's video that I begin to acquire hope, that even in a difficult graduate program in a country so different from my own, that I too can find those comforts to help me along in my personal journey.

Siew Lian's hard work and dedication is obvious even from a computer screen in China. However, only those who have the capacity for sensitivity, openness, and humor are able to cherish the similarities between one's self and another individual who may appear so different and far away.