As a child I never really remember my mum and dad being together. My parents met some thirty years ago in Hong Kong, in a McDonald’s. Apparently the fast food outlet was so busy that my dad had asked to share a table with my mum. In April 1988 I was born and at the age of four he left home to start a new job in Malaysia, coming home from Malaysia to visit us maybe once or twice a year.
Born after the start of WWII, my English father was a war baby; his family moved to Essex when he was just two years old. His parents grew up in the East end of London, his father was a furniture restorer and his mother a housewife. My father’s childhood was full of adventures, like lighting firecrackers in the dark. When they went off, thinking he had blown off all his fingers, he would run to a street lamp only to discover he had just a few blood blisters instead.
My mother who is Filipino and grew up in the Philippines, the eldest daughter of eight children, was sent to live with her three aunts in the provinces. They paid for her education; in return she did the household chores after school and had no time for fun and games.
So my father has always been an opportunist. My mother has always been a grafter. And I have always been somewhat in-between plus some daydreaming.
I'm constantly wanting adventure but being too scared to go after it. As a child of dual heritage comprising of Eastern and Western cultures, I have realised it is a blessing. I can select the best qualities from either culture and discard the things I do not like.
IN THIS HEIRLOOM: 'MY FAMILY AND I' SERIES OUR CREATIVES SHARE PERSONAL INSIGHTS INTO THEIR LIVES. JESS GIVES INSIGHT INTO WHAT VALUES SHE WOULD LIKE TO PASS ON TO FUTURE GENERATIONS AND SHARES CONTEXT OF WHAT LIFE EXPERIENCES INFLUENCED HER APPROACH TO LIFE
by JESS WHITE
MY FAMILY AND i:
NOTHING VENTURED NOTHING GAINED