I grew up both in Hong Kong and Sydney, I first witnessed a presence of Religious Life on World Youth Day, 2008 - they were in habits, young and joyful! But I quickly dampened that little spark with my own desire of a happy marriage with children and perhaps mission work or work for the Church down the line. Because of my interest to serve the poor and the Church, I entered medical school after some time as a pharmacist. In the Lord's plan, I met a Francisan priest during a retreat that Summer, and it was then I was first asked "have you thought about Religious Life". My immediate thought was "Yes, I thought about it and...No way!" However, that night and for days I could not stop thinking about that question. It was both frustrating and puzzling to me because at that time I did not feel called to Religious Life (more accurately, I did not want to admit to His call) and yet I kept thinking about it! And more than that, the more I tried NOT to think about it, the more it came to my mind and was even starting to make me happy in a way I never felt before!

For my ring motto I chose "Here am I, Lord!". This is from the RSV translation, from Isaiah, when the Lord was asking, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” and Isaiah responded with "Here am I! send me." The call to Religious Life is one of responding to the Lord's invitation of a life as His Spouse for the praise and worship of the Triune God. From the beginning of discovering my vocation and now every morning when I wake up to renew my promises, what I utter is responding to Him who first called me. Therefore it is "here am I" to signify an answer to a question, and not "here I am" which implies a statement or announcement. I also kept the exclamation mark because it speaks to me how I am to respond to God - with enthusiasm, trusting Him in simplicity and love.