PLAN WITH ME | April 2021 Bullet Journal Setup

(upbeat music)

- Thank you to Skillshare
for sponsoring today's video.

Hey everyone, it's Amanda.

So I'm doing my April,
2021 bullet journal setup

and plan with me today.

The video that you're about to
see is a little bit different

from my typical plan with me videos

I'm actually going to be talking
almost like podcast style

about my thoughts, about my experiences

being an Asian creator,

especially in the wake
of all of the anti-Asian

violence and racism.

So that's what you guys will be hearing.

Obviously you'll still be
seeing my bullet journal setup

and everything

but it won't be like my typical video

where I narrate every pencil
stroke in every box that I draw

which honestly, at this
point, I think is fine

because you guys have seen me
set up my bullet journal setup

tons of times.

So pretty sure most of you guys

know what I'm doing at this point.

I know most of you guys
will be very supportive

and encouraging about this video.

So thank you in advance.

But with that being said,

let's just get started with the setup.

(soft music)

All right.

So the bullet journal theme
I decided on for April

is this black and white bamboo fossil

which was inspired by traditional
Chinese ink paintings.

And the reason why I chose this is because

it actually relates to
what I wanted to talk about

in my voiceover today,
which is my Asian identity

and experience as well as the rise

in anti-Asian hate crimes and violence.

So of course, just as a trigger warning,

before this video if you don't
wanna hear about any of this,

then, you know, maybe mute it.

Of course, with all of this,

I'm gonna be getting into
some pretty serious topics.

So if you haven't been
seeing what's been going on

in the news recently,

there's been a rise in anti-Asian
hate crimes and violence

both in America and Canada.

And just as some statistics for you,

yes, I'm pulling out the statistics,

from 2019 to 2020 while overall hate crime

has declined by 7%,

hate crimes targeting Asians specifically

has increased by nearly 150% in America.

And in Canada, it's
increased by six or 700 times

in major cities.

And these incidents involve
people being coughed on,

spat on physically and verbally insulted

and of course, as we've
seen in the news recently

in Atlanta, actually being killed.

So

yes, a lot of this is a
result of the racist rhetoric

in the news regarding the
pandemic over the past year,

you know, a certain someone
calling it the Chinese flu.

But I think it's really
important to point out

that a lot of it is just
exposing a very deep history

of anti-Asian racism and
xenophobia that is existed

in the West for centuries.

I mean, the way the West
has talked about China,

even before the pandemic was often

shrouded in hatred or fear.

And you always hear about
this looming presence

of communist China, as if
they're trying to invade,

which has instilled a really
scary and mysterious picture

of China in people's minds.

And it affects the Asian community today.

So throughout history, you can see this

systematically in the
Chinese exclusion act,

which happened in both Canada and America,

the Japanese internment camps,

the Chinese head tax in Canada,

where every person immigrating from China

had to pay a fee in order
to enter the country.

And as a note, no other group in Canada

has ever been forced to pay a fee

based upon where they're from.

I don't wanna take this entire voiceover

to talk about statistics
and history and all of that,

because of course you didn't
necessarily click this video

to hear about that.

However, you do come to my videos for me

and what I create my art and my journaling

and my Asian identity is a
big part of a lot of that.

For those of you who don't
know about my background

which is apparently a lot of people,

because when I Google search
my name, the first thing,

like one of the first things that pops up

is Amanda racially ethnicity.

But anyway, I am a third
generation Chinese Canadian.

So my grandparents were born in China

and then immigrated here to Canada.

And growing up, my Asian
identity was kind of confusing

because on one hand I was clearly Chinese.

Both my parents are Chinese.

I look Chinese.

However, on the other hand,
I didn't feel Chinese at all.

I was born in Canada.

My parents speak fully fluent English,

which meant I of course
spoke no Chinese at all.

And I just grew up like
any Canadian child.

So I really didn't connect
to my Chinese side at all.

And I actually almost started
to resent that side of me,

which is something I'm not very proud of

and it breaks my heart thinking back

to the way that I used to
think about my own culture

and identity at the time,

I think I definitely had a
lot of internalized racism.

I just remember wishing I could
be white because in my head,

I was pretty much already there.

And I know that this is something

that a lot of children
of immigrants go through,

that feeling of being
in between two worlds,

never fully by either.

For me, this was extremely
evident in my life,

even as recent as high school.

I was lucky enough to go to schools

that were pretty diverse.

And I would say that my high school

had actually quite a lot of Asians.

So I was surrounded by Asians.

But even then, there were
times that I felt left out

of my Asian friends,

because since I was a third
generation Chinese Canadian,

and most of them were second generation.

A lot of them spoke their
respective home languages

and I only spoke English.

Additionally, I chose a career path

in the creative industries,
whereas typically,

you know, Asians are
associated with being doctors

or lawyers or engineers.

And granted a lot of that
is pressure from parents

and society and all of that.

But a lot of people would joke
that I'm a whitewashed Asian.

And I would even make that joke myself,

I think mostly as a way to dismiss it

and join in on the joke
and laugh with people.

But guiltily, I think sometimes
I would even take pride

in someone calling me
whitewashed or someone asking me

whether I was mixed half
Chinese, half white.

And it's really comes from
that idea of whiteness

being the ultimate form

or the something to aspire to be.

And the fact that people saw that in me

was almost like a badge of assimilation.

Obviously now, I think that's so sad.

I wish I spoke Chinese

and I wish I had made more of an effort

to connect to my culture growing up.

And this is something that
I'm still working through

and it's something that
I'll have to navigate

for the rest of my life as an Asian woman.

As I mentioned, I felt left
out for my Asian friends

but of course I did not 100%
fit in with non-Asians either.

I mean, clearly because
of the way I looked,

I'm clearly Asian.

But a lot of this was also
because of the microaggressions

that I would face on a daily basis.

If you don't know what
microaggressions are,

they are subtle and indirect expressions

of racism or white superiority,

kind of casual and disguised.

And they're really common,

so common that they're often dismissed

or played off as jokes.

And even though the name has micro in it,

these small statements
can actually build up

to have a really large
effect on minority groups.

And I have, of course dealt with all kinds

of these microaggressions and jokes

between people coming up to me

and literally singing
Ching Chong to my face

to people pulling back their eyes

or to people asking me
where I'm really from.

There are so many microaggressions

that minorities deal
with on a daily basis.

I actually found a couple

of really great academic papers

that go through the main themes
amongst microaggressions.

I won't go through all of them

but the first main one is the idea

of being an alien in
your own land or country.

And it comes from the idea that all Asians

or people of color were
born in foreign countries

and in everyday life, this
manifests in the question

that I think pretty much
every person of color

has been asked in their life.

It's the, oh, you know,
where are you from?

And then ultimately when
I say I'm from Canada,

you get hit with the,

no, but like where are you really from?

And although, most of the times it's from

someone who's really well-intentioned,

taking interest in your background.

The way it's expressed makes it sound like

I'm not a real Canadian,

despite the fact that I
was literally born here

and I've never gone to China in my life.

By the way, if you're wondering
how to ask that question,

try asking someone what
their background is

or what their ethnicity is

instead of asking them where they're from.

Another microaggression
theme is the denial

of race in general,

which is seen in the very
common statements like,

oh, I don't see color,

there's only one race, the human race.

And this just denies a person of color's

cultural culture and racial experiences.

We're not asking people to be colorblind.

It's more so like seeing
color but then accepting it

and acknowledging it.

Another example of this
is when people deny

that race plays a role
in people's success.

I've heard this in my own life

through debates that I've had

about diversity initiatives in companies.

People will say things
like, well, you know,

the most qualified person
should get the job.

They shouldn't just get it

because they're a person of color

or everyone can succeed in this society

if they just work hard enough.

And the implication there is that,

if a person of color does
get the job or gets chosen

then perhaps they were
given unfair benefits

and were only chosen
because of their race.

But it also insinuates
that the white counterpart

was probably a better fit or
a better quality qualified.

And it just diminishes
the very real barriers

that people of color face in
society in order to succeed.

A lot of times when
microaggressions like this

would happen to me, I would brush it off

or even gaslight myself
saying that it wasn't

that big of a deal, or it's
not worth it to make a fuss.

And I think many Asians
are discouraged to speak up

about any discrimination
or problems that they face.

And it comes from this
idea, this instilled idea

from families not to rock the boat.

Over the years Asian immigrants
have tried their best

to assimilate and to be
accepted in the West,

even taking on jobs
that nobody else wanted

and not causing a fuss.

However, this passiveness
has eventually evolved.

And now it's used against us as well

as other minority groups.

For example, putting the black community

against the Asian community

and using Asians as a scapegoat
to blame the black community

for not being able to
succeed in today's society.

You know, they say that
you're just not trying enough,

look at the Asians they're
doing so well here.

And this is called the
model minority myth.

There's this assumption that
all Asians are high earners

and have succeeded in the West,

diminishing any racism or
barriers that they have faced.

However, for example, in America,

Asians actually have
the largest income gap

between wealthy and poor
amongst minority groups.

There is a 12.3% poverty
rate amongst Asians

which appears that, you know,
Asians aren't a monolith,

there's not one type of Asian experience.

And the fact that that
one type of experience

is used against us and
other minority groups.

It's awful.

One more thing that I wanted to talk about

is the fetishization of Asian women.

Due to the history of war
and hyper-sexualization

of Asian woman.

It has resulted in this
idea that Asian women

are submissive and that
they make great wives

because they don't talk back.

At one point, Asian
women were even portrayed

as the antithesis of a white feminist.

In a 1990 GQ article, it
described the typical Asian woman

as someone who "doesn't insist

on being treated like a person,

she's there when you need leave

from those angry feminists."

I don't think I need to
explain why that's messed up.

But to this day, men are
extremely open and forthcoming

about their Asian fetishes,
not even seeing them as humans.

It's more so like an object of conquest

and you can now see how
there's a definite link

between this history and
the shootings that happened

in Atlanta this week, or last week,

where a man specifically
targeted an Asian spa

after citing blame for
his sexual addiction.

Okay.

I know I've been spewing
a lot of information

which I definitely wanted
this video to have a lot of

useful information for
you guys to learn from.

But I,

back to my personal experience,

I wanted to talk about my
experience as an Asian creator

on YouTube in specific.

I've never really talked
about this too much before

and I contemplated whether
I wanted to bring it up

because it is kind of
hard for me to talk about.

But if you go back to my
old bullet journal videos,

you'll see that I never showed my face

in the beginning of them.

I didn't even film an intro.

And in the past, around
the 2017 to 2018 period,

my face was never put on
the thumbnails of my videos.

And that was actually
partially intentional.

This was a real conversation that I had

with my YouTube manager.

We discussed that it might
be smarter to not put my face

in thumbnails so that
people don't discriminate

when they're clicking videos,

if they had seen an Asian face.

Obviously eventually,

you know, I started incorporating
myself more into videos

and now you guys see my vlogs.

And sometimes I put myself
in thumbnails and stuff,

but that was after a substantial
audience had been built.

And, you know, I think to this day,

it's still kind of sticks
in the back of my mind

that my most viewed videos

are some of the ones where
my face doesn't show at all

in the thumbnail or in the video.

And of course, race might not
have anything to do with it,

but it really does suck
to have to wonder whether

I could be more successful if I was white

or if I wasn't chosen for specific jobs

or sponsorships because of my race.

And I think it's important
to acknowledge my privilege

in this situation too,

because even in the videos where

I am drawing and only
my hands are showing,

my skin tone, my hands are pale and fair

and I wonder if my skin
tone had been darker,

would the videos have done just as well?

I don't know, but I just do know that

in like stationary advertisements

or on Instagram,

the recommended on Pinterest or in media,

the hands that you see,

like the hand models for
everything are white hands.

Anyway, so let's take it
back to the present day

since we're coming up to
the end of my set up here.

I think this is the last spread or two.

I wanted to talk about something
that I had actually made

in Instagram story about.

If you didn't see it,

I basically said, I wish more
of the stationary community

would speak up about the recent rise in

hate crimes against Asians,
just because so much

of the stationary that
people use are Japanese

or borrowed from traditional
Asian and calligraphy and art.

I mean, I can't even list all of the

Japanese stationary brands that exist

because honestly it's
pretty much all of them.

You have Moogy, Pilot,
Tombo, Kuretake, Zebra,

Hobonichi and the travelers company

and way more not to mention that wash tape

is literally a Japanese word

that we've borrowed and
have used as a term today.

And then of course,
you have the brush pens

that people love and use in calligraphy.

And those are based on

traditional Asian calligraphy
practice with a brush.

I guess I'm going into
another history lesson,

but this is a calligraphy
history lesson so it's fun.

But basically historically
Western the calligraphy

and typography was done
with a hammer chisel

and stone or a broad nib pen.

Whereas Chinese calligraphy
is where you will see

the brush calligraphy.

And that was the tool that was used

in a lot of their pieces.

Additionally, Chinese calligraphy

placed a lot of value on
individual style and improvisation.

Whereas in the Latin lettering,

there was an ideal structure
and geometry was valued.

In Chinese calligraphy,
it seen not so much

as achieving perfection or an ideal form

but almost like our record
of a specific moment

as well as a practice that
encourages meditation,

observation and calm energy.

It was really seen as
a true art form in Asia

which is why to this day,

historians know the names of
a lot of famous calligraphers

from China.

And this was very different
from the Western calligrapher

or topographer.

Which was viewed as more of
a utilitarian trades person,

since most of their work
involved copying manuscripts.

And I think it's pretty fair

to say that a lot of
modern hand lettering today

between artists and hobbyists

take on a lot of those ideals
from Chinese calligraphy,

with it becoming more of
a self-care relaxing hobby

versus something that is
done out of necessity,

like it was in Western
calligraphy historically.

Obviously, you know, a
lot of calligraphy today

is also based on Western calligraphy

with like the fountain pen
and Gothic forms of letters.

But I think that individual expression

and the more artistic aspect of it

has really manifested itself today

with all of the beautiful stylings

of lettering and calligraphy
that you see on Instagram

and Pinterest and people
really taking on that idea

of it being an art form.

As you can see in my bullet
journal set up this month,

I used Japanese ink

and an actual brush to
honor this beautiful history

of calligraphy art in Asian culture.

And as I was doing it,

I almost found myself
in a meditative state

while I was painting the bamboo leaves.

So I can definitely connect
to that historical side

of traditional calligraphy
painting and art.

All that to say,

you know, not that people
should need a reason

to speak up about racism,

but it's just this cherry
picking of Asian culture

that bothers me.

I forgot where I had read this

but it's almost like
people are out of buffet

and they're choosing
what aspects they like

from Asian culture without

even actually appreciating
the history or acknowledging

the negative history
associated with Asian culture.

People will gladly take
what Asian culture provides

whether it be sushi, anime,
K-pop, yoga, bubble tea

or stationary,

but not ever fully accept
us or speak up for us

when we are in need.

And since you know, we're
at the last spread here

in my bullet journal setup,

this is the part where
I really wanna ask you

to take notice of who's
speaking up at this time,

you guys have currency

in the form of who you give a platform.

And I'm very grateful that you
guys have given me a platform

and that I'm able to
speak up about this stuff

because

I am very proud

that I'm able to connect
with a lot of people.

One of my favorite things

is when I get comments
from other Asian girls,

saying that they were inspired
to join a creative field

because of me and stuff like that.

So I really don't take this platform

and privilege that I've been given lightly

and I hope other creators don't as well.

Well, okay.

Thank you guys for listening
to me blog about all of this.

I really worked hard on researching things

and making sure that I
gave you guys interesting

and helpful information.

You might be asking, okay,

Amanda, after all of that,
what can I do to help?

And honestly,

I know you guys have seen all
those Instagram infographics

of stuff.

And of course I will be
linking resources like that

down below that you guys can share,

but I'll also be linking all the sources

that I used to research everything

and places to donate as well.

But really right now, one of
the best things that you can do

is listen to Asian Voices
as well as look inwards.

Many times people get defensive

or shut down when confronted
with their own action.

But one of the greatest ways to learn

is acknowledging whether
you or someone in your life

has done something that could
negatively affect minorities.

Even if it's unknowingly,

like the microaggressions that
I mentioned in this video.

So speak up if you see someone else

making those uncomfortable jokes,

if it's in your workplace or your family,

don't just chalk it up to
someone not meaning any harm.

What else?

Oh, you can support your
local Asian businesses.

I've been so worried about all of the

Asian owned restaurants
who have been taking a hit

during this pandemic because
of that misconception

that Asian food,

you know, Asians eat bats

and if you eat Asian food,
you'll get the virus.

It's a very real thing that
people have been spreading.

And not only do the Asian owners

of these businesses and restaurants

have to fear for their safety
now with everything going on,

but that on top of the

financial hit

that the pandemic has given
them, it's been really worrying.

And I hope that a lot of my
favorite Asian businesses

and restaurants will
survive after the pandemic.

And of course, please spread awareness

especially if you think
your circle reaches

a lot of non-Asian people.

I always worry about things
becoming a bit echo chambery

especially in my community

and that all of this
awareness and information

is not reaching the people

that probably need to hear it the most.

This is why we need non-Asian
allies so much at this time.

So, wow.

That was a lot.

I know this voiceover was heavy.

There was a lot of information.

And for myself, I knew that
this was a video that I wanted

and needed to make.

So it was really fulfilling
to research a lot

and even thinking about
what I wanted to talk about

in this voiceover, it was
a little bit emotional

because I really had to unlock

a lot of my childhood past growing up,

my experiences as an Asian woman.

So it was a very interesting video to make

and I hope you guys
took something from it.

Thank you if anything,

just for listening to me talk about it.

I really, really do appreciate that.

Oh, and hopefully you
also enjoyed watching

the setup as well.

I know I didn't talk about
it too much in the video

but I really did like how the
setup and theme turned out.

I love the gray scale inky look to it.

And I think it just looks very elegant

and it was calming to make as well.

Before I show you guys
the final flip through

of my bullet journal setup,

I wanted to talk a little bit

about today's sponsor, Skillshare.

If you guys don't already
know about Skillshare,

they are an awesome
online learning community

with thousands of really
inspiring classes.

And they're all geared towards
creative and curious people

which I know all of you guys are.

They have tons of classes
about design, illustration,

business, technology, you name it,

they probably have a class for it.

I try to take new
Skillshare classes regularly

so that I can keep learning
and expanding my skills

and that way I can apply it into anything,

creative that I do, whether it be my art

or my videos or my bullet journal setups.

You guys always ask me
how I get inspiration

and how I stay motivated to be creative.

And I think learning new things

is a really big part of that.

Of course, a lot of you
guys already know this

but I do actually have a bunch of classes

on Skillshare that are
exclusive to their platform.

I have classes on creative journaling,

art journaling for mental wellness.

I have class on journaling
your affirmations

with a little bit of a lettering workshops

thrown in there as well.

So if you guys want to
see more content for me

then Skillshare is the
perfect platform for that.

I definitely go a little bit more in depth

than I do on my channel here

just because that platform allows for it.

And that's one of the
things that I do love

about the platform itself is,

just through all the
diverse classes and teachers

and projects and discussion boards,

it really encourages a community

and encourages supporting fellow creative.

Also, they're always
launching new premium content.

So you'll always have
something to check out

if it peaks your curiosity

and it is curated for learning,

meaning there's no ads,

you're really focused in on
the class that you're taking

and the projects that you're doing.

So if you guys are interested

in trying out Skillshare for yourself,

premium membership is
less than $10 a month,

but Skillshare was kind enough to offer

my viewers the little
doodles, a special deal.

So the first thousand subscribers of mine

who clicked the link in my
description box down below

will get 30% off in
annual premium membership.

And something to note,

if you've already done
the free trial offer,

you can still take advantage
of this deal which is awesome.

As always, a huge thank you to Skillshare.

They've always been very supportive

of me and my channel and
big friend to the channel.

So check them out in the
description box down below

if you guys wanted to
learn some new things.

And finally, here's the full flip through

of my April, 2021 bullet journal setup,

which was my homage to
traditional Asian ink paintings

and calligraphy.

I think it turned out so beautiful

and it was just so
relaxing and fun to make.

All right, guys.

So that's it for my bullet journal setup.

I know it was a little
bit of a different format

than what I usually do,

but hopefully you enjoyed
hearing my thoughts

and maybe it made you think
about some stuff on your own.

Of course, I will be
leaving a bunch of links

and resources and places
to donate down below.

I really, really encourage you
to check some of those out.

And if you are able to donate,

it would really mean a lot to me.

And just all in all, let's
be nice to each other,

let's be understanding, keep
listening to people's stories.

I do want to showcase some
of your guys' recreation's

from last month as I always do.

If you do want to be
featured in my future video,

then make sure you tag me
on Instagram @amandarachlee.

Just tag me in the photo
of your recreation's

whether it be from this month
or previous months set up.

And then of course, as always,

if you do want to see the rest
of my weekly spread setups,

then come hang out on
Twitch every Saturday

at 11:00 AM Eastern time,

I set up my weekly spreads live

and it's a nice chill little community.

Anyway, I hope you're all
taking care of yourself.

Keep doodling.

And I will talk to you in the next one.

Bye everyone.

(calm music)