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Melissa Yang

@myter

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@openpractice__
freelance writer/photographer
All views are mine and I don’t use generative AI. Only my own human intelligence.

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Poetry is not a luxury.
If you’re in the Bay Area next Friday Nov. 21, my poem ‘Presence’ will be on display at @meetmeinsf’s cinema night market in SF. Thank you @roseboats for the opportunity to reflect and @rick_telander for being a part of my process.

Write my poems, sing my songs, walk my dog, linger a little long… it all helps to remind me that life is a dance and I only get one. by @myter

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a year ago

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2 years ago

Silent hoops 🤫📚

@openpractice__ officially recommends Situated by Angela Duckworth 👍👍 two thumbs up and a swish. Read this book if you want to follow through on your hopes and dreams and find the people + spaces that make it easier for you to realize them.

From the book; Carl Jung on what every person needs: “the protective wall of human community.” by @myter

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4 days ago

A Valkyries double feature 💜

Sunday: Took my sister to her first WNBA game in the Bay ft. @milly.ye

Monday: the @sanjoselibrary unveiled the new official @valkyries card at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. library in DTSJ. Very special to see the lobby filled with fans decked out in light purple lining up to get their cards, including a very cute little girl in a Gabby Williams jersey 🥹

I used to come to the King library as a kid with my dad and sister. It warmed my heart to experience this corner of the world, where a WNBA team partners with the local library. Where something better is created to fill a space that was once empty.

30 years of the WNBA. 30 years!! To get to this moment we are all getting to enjoy. I take a lot of inspiration and guidance from the women who had the foresight of a world where arenas are filled with joy and people eager to cheer on professional female athletes.

It reminds me that we have to believe a better version of the world is possible. We have to believe there is a better future to look forward to. I do. by @myter

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6 days ago

hi hello there basketball and/or book lovers. come hang with me at the @sanjoselibrary (and you can get the new exclusive Valkyries library card!!!) by @myter

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6 days ago

Happy WNBA Playoffs eve 🤠

I’m really proud of this one. Grateful for the opportunity to meditate on something I love so much. (And yes, for the record, I got the words “Young Hos” published on GQ dot com) check it out ♨️ link in bio ! by @myter

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10 days ago

immersed in my humanity 🤲🏼 by @myter

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10 days ago

Best day EVER!! Thank you @sfpubliclibrary @valkyries for putting on such a lovely launch event for the PUBLIC!! Went to get the “Official Valkyries Library Card” but got enticed by Bruce Lee 🤣

Shoutout @k_thornton6, Alejandro, Lori, and all the wonderful library staff for being present in the community.

Much gratitude to Lori, who gifted me a copy of Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan, the 2026 selection for One City One Book, a citywide literary event that encourages everyone to read the same book at the same time and discuss it in groups and events around the city.. 🥹💜

@openpractice__ next stop: San Francisco!!! Go Valks! by @myter

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19 days ago

❤️‍🩹🪡 by @myter

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22 days ago

I got a new haircut and I LOVE IT!! 🥰 by @myter

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a month ago

I discovered a box filled with my books from college. Feels like receiving a blessing from the past. These 5 books were from a general education class I took on the American War in Vietnam, taught by @viet.thanh.nguyen.writer, who I learned also grew up in San Jose, California.

The thesis of his class was that wars are fought twice, first on the battle grounds and second in memory. How do we remember and teach the events of our history?

That class planted a seed inside of me that has grown steadily over time. Why was I not educated about the history of my ancestors earlier?

Being a child of Vietnamese refugees is a gift and a curse. It has taught me resilience and how to survive, relentlessly. Yet, it has only been in my embrace of joy and play that I have begun to experience peace in my body, mind, and spirit.

Being from San Jose is a superpower because I grew up thinking that I was in the majority. Everywhere I looked, there were people who looked just like me and plenty of people who did not. It wasn’t until I left SJ that I realized how special this place is.

Last year, I went to a book event in Menlo Park and told Viet that I had recently moved back home to San Jose and he said, why did you do that? 🤣 good question I thought… I told him that it was to be closer to my family.

Thank you professor for teaching me about our history. Best of luck in this next chapter of your life and hope to see you out there on the road 🥋 by @myter

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a month ago

DAISY CHAIN HOPE CORE 🌼💥♥️ by @myter

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a month ago