Melody Nguyen
Quote
"I'm an artist at heart. You can't spell 'Heart' without 'Art.'"
Pronouns
Whereabouts
California, USA
Zodiac Signs
Scorpio Dominant - Sagittarius Cusp
Year of the Dog, Octopus
Origin story
Everyone has an origin story.
Where we started, how we got to where we are today, what shaped us into our current existence, etc... And here's mine.
Honestly, it's not pretty.
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So READER BEWARE. Possible triggers ahead!
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Life is truly stranger than fiction sometimes, and yet it goes on, until it doesn't. Now, I've summed it up for you in a convenient timeline.
Want more details?
Follow my socials down below, and stay tuned for a possible book!
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Spoiler Alert: No matter where you are in life, you are deserving of so much love and happiness.
Times in my life
November 21st 1994
November 1994 - December 2004
January 2005 - August 2008
September 2009 - May 2012
November 2013 - December 2016
1:10 AM born a little too early at an estimated 32 weeks. Weighing roughly 3lbs, I spent about a month in the hospital. My mother loves to say that I was just "Too excited to join the party" and that the reason I survived was because I was "a very hungry girl."
The first 10 years of my life were scary, confusing, but fun.
My mom worked at Hollywood Videos and would bring home games and VHS tapes for my siblings and I to watch/play. My mother was our rock, and she did the very best she could with 3 children running around. She left my father during this time, and filed for divorce after his alcoholism and abusiveness become too much.
My first experience with childhood trauma. I learned what fear was like very early on, but she taught me courage. A very proud moment that I will forever remember in history.
I discovered my love for creating and drawing while living in with our grandparents and relatives. Spent most of my time with grandpa in his makeshift workshop in the garage. Discovered my love for singing, lots of karaoke with family.
Honestly though, for the rest of it, I was a terror. Trying to grow up with the expectation of being a well behaved child without having any guidance on how to manage feelings and trauma, as well as body image issues, and eating disorders. YIKES.
Especially when womanhood started when I turned 10.
Made my first jewelry pieces using plastic beads and stretchy string, also started making doll clothes. Both looked horrible.
Unfortunately, a few months after my tenth birthday, my little brother got sick and was hospitalized for a month. Talk about terrifying. He survived, but it was the first time that it really hit me that life is so incredibly short and fleeting.
Middle School was odd.
It turns out that being different and strange, makes you a target for bullies and social exclusion everywhere you go. No worries though. I met a lifelong friend during this time, and really leaned into my love of art. And yes, she is still my very best friend even 18+ years later!!
Began developing my skills in drawing, writing, and crafting. I quickly learned that what I wanted in life and what others expected of me, were vastly different things, and no matter what I did, I would never be good enough. Except to my grandpa. Without him, I don't know how i could have gotten through those early years.
I started writing, as a way to cope with all my thoughts and feelings. One of my poems got published in a poetry book at 11 years old. Was also nominated as "Poet of the Year." Bought a copy of the poetry book titled "Forever Spoken." I was so proud.
Everyone else thought it was a scam.
I was excited to go to high school where I could be free to express my individualism and to be accepted as my true self. Reality taught me that the so called "Freedom of self expression," came with a lot of judgment and ridicule. And my position in life was dependent on the cumulative amalgam of what other's thought of me, instead of who I actually was. Being of multiracial decent, I grew up with the understanding that I would never be good enough to fit on either side, so I decided to just be me. In my mind, it wasn't about my culture, ancestry, ethnicity, or color of my skin. It didn't matter where I came from or who I came from. All that mattered, was that I was here, and I wanted to change the world for the better.
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But I was wrong. There is a lot of people who will take advantage of you. Experiencing toxicity, abuse, bullying, and neglect can make things very bleak in life, but art was always there. I used my studies, writing, and art as an outlet. But a lot of terrible things were going on in my life during this time.
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I wanted to start working at 16 but my family told me to focus on my studies and that I was needed at home to cook, clean, and watch over my grandpa and siblings. They said that as long I was in school they would provide for me.
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But I had no savings, no experience.
I felt trapped.
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I briefly wrote for the school newspaper and joined an after school art club.
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My senior year I got an award for artist of the year.
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Having an eating disorder from being constantly bullied about my weight messed up my body causing a very bad gallbladder attack that traumatized me for years. When I went to the doctor to get checked out, no one believed me. I was given lots of excuses instead of getting the help I needed to get treated and fix the issue.
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I graduated high school May 2012 at 17 years old. I couldn't afford to walk, and even if I did, no one would show up to graduation. So I didn't.
My grandpa was very proud of me though.
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After high school I was very eager to explore my options and figure out what I wanted to do career wise. I wanted to take a year off to decide what to do and my family said okay at first, until 6 months in they couldn't handle it anymore.
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I had been self studying for 6 months learning a few languages, brushing up on my calculus, learning to program, and trying to get an idea on what I wanted to do with my life, when they said that I was "A nobody" and that I was "wasting my life away"
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They gave me an ultimatum go to beauty school or get kicked out of the house.
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I had no choice but go to beauty school. I couldn't drive and used all the money I had to pay for equipment for beauty school, so I walked 5.5 miles to school everyday until my feet bled and blistered. Some days I walked 11 miles, from school and back.
Meanwhile, the toxicity and abuse got worse at home. I barely ate and got sick quite often.
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At beauty school, I started dating someone at the school who seemed nice. After a month, they offered to let me stay with them so that we could attend school together. It was closer to the school and they could drives us.
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Shortly before my 19th birthday in 2013, I tried to discuss it with my mother and drama ensued. I became disowned by my family and was forced to vacate. My grandpa beg on his knees for me to stay but it was too late, they had thrown my clothes out the front yard and threatened to call the cops on me.
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Not knowing that I went from one terrible situation into another, I started being abused by this person, and with no where to go and no one to call, I was stuck.
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5 months later, my grandpa has a stroke and is hospitalized. I spend every day of those 9 days in the hospital with him, until April 16, 2014, where I watched the only person who truly loved me, die in the hospital. They didn't even close his eyes.
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I was devastated but had to return to beauty school where the school owner threatened to expel me for missing too many days. I finish school but failed the state exam.
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Got my first official job as a retail worker at Joann
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Enrolled myself into Pasadena City College settling on majoring in business and bookkeeping.
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The abuse got worse until July 2016 I nearly die and I'm left outside of my grandma's house at 3am with internal injuries.
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January 2005 - August 2008
Middle School was odd. It turns out that being different and strange, makes you a target for bullies and social exclusion everywhere you go. No worries though. Being different also meant that those that truly love you will naturally gravitate towards you. I met a lifelong friend during this time, and really leaned into my love of art. Began developing my skills in drawing, writing, and crafting. Unfortunately, a few months after my tenth birthday, my little brother got sick and was hospitalized for a month. Talk about terrifying. He survived, but it was the first time that life felt so fleeting and so unpredictable.
January 2005 - August 2008
Middle School was odd. It turns out that being different and strange, makes you a target for bullies and social exclusion everywhere you go. No worries though. Being different also meant that those that truly love you will naturally gravitate towards you. I met a lifelong friend during this time, and really leaned into my love of art. Began developing my skills in drawing, writing, and crafting. Unfortunately, a few months after my tenth birthday, my little brother got sick and was hospitalized for a month. Talk about terrifying. He survived, but it was the first time that life felt so fleeting and so unpredictable.
My socials
