Hello! I’m Sui. ♥ My name is pronounced sway.

I help warriors and revolutionaries– such as yourself!– love themselves and their bodies more so they can do the work that really matters. I write and create offerings to help you do just that.

I’m a survivor of abuse, depression, assault, and eating disorders.

Read my story.

I love. I create. I write. I breathe. I sit. I move. I read. I walk. I eat. I sleep. I connect. I explore. I capture. I appreciate. I smile. I discover. I give. I laugh. I wake up. I grow.

You can…
1. read some nice things people have said about me
2. read some other things I’ve written and been interviewed about

Or, you can press play and listen to my superhero-warrior theme song:

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I love ♥

Les Miserables, curiosity, photography, Ulysses, self-portraiture, deconstructing gender/heteronormativity, tea, hugging trees, apranahita, reading poetry at open mics, cafes (but not coffee), beautiful words, emotionally visceral music, yoga, seeing artists perform live, the underdog, language, books, dictionaries, simplicity, spiritus, art, my feline daughter, walking, only owning what I need, cities, water, growing, learning, dystopian novels, reading classics, kale, eating fruit, sustainability, eating without harming animals, veggie burritos, doing crazy things, facing my fears, vegetables, green smoothies, meeting new people, being stubbornly and unapologetically myself, using the gift of my free will to live in resonance with my values, sapiosexuality, compassionate communication, environminimalism, gratitude, looking stupid in public, mindfulness bells, nourishing eating, The Glass Menagerie, public transportation, honesty, sustainable food, Reduce-Reuse-(and-only-then-Recycle), pluck fastic, plastic-free living, platypi, cutting my hair, stickin’ it to The Man, clean design, mindful consumption, laughing uncontrollably and freakishly, solitude, vulnerability, making an art out of letting go, and you.

But not necessarily in that order. ;)

elsewhere on the web

I write creative fiction and poetry.

I shoot gorgeous beings like yourself. With a camera!

I’m on Google+. Hello!

In 2012, I’m photographing all my stuff to take stock of what I own and truly need, and let go of what I don’t.

here are some random facts

I’m here, now in Brooklyn, NY.

I’ve lived in Shanghai, San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, and Montreal.

I started cynosure in November 2009. (You can read more about that here.)

I hand-coded from scratch and published my first website in 1999.

My first job working for someone else was waitressing in Shanghai 50 hours a week for less than $100USD per month when I was 16. (One of the best summers of my life.)

I published an anthology of creative fiction (short stories and poetry) from younger years in August 2010 under my own publishing house.

I like the colors red and cerulean-sky blue. (And grey, white, and black– as might be evidenced by this color scheme.)

I’m fluent-ish in Shanghainese, Mandarin, Spanish, and Japanese. (I’m especially rusty on the last two.) I can read Latin and Korean, but I can barely understand the latter.

here’s what I’ve been up to since 2009

In 2009 I:
started learning to love myself; started learning to love my body; started cynosure after recovering from my eating disorder; learned Latin

In 2010 I:
began shooting professionally; auctioned off photography and raised hundreds of dollars for Haiti disaster relief; became vegetarian; became a morning person; started running again; published a book; became vegan; ran a 10k and raised hundreds of dollars for AIDS programs; adopted a feline daughter; ran 10 miles without stopping; read 52 books

In 2011 I:
began the year running a 15k while listening to Owen Pallett; shot a gun for the first time; flew an airplane; began sitting; ran the Carlsbad 5k; designed and released a limited edition poster; shaved my head; got a hair tattoo; jumped out of a plane; organized an art raffle and raised hundreds of dollars for Japan disaster relief; wrote a guide to mindful eating; did bikram yoga for the first time; created my first course; meditated with Thich Nhat Hanh at Deer Park; read my poetry in front of an audience for the first time, and then four more times; dressed up as myself for Halloween; became location-independent; spent 50+ hours on the yoga mat in two months; ate 20+ veggie burritos; read 75 books

In 2012 I:
am photographing all my stuff; am taking a limited number of photography clients; am propelling myself out into the universe; published a book; curated writings on kindness and self-care from bestselling authors, entrepreneurs, and artists and published them in a collaborative book with all proceeds going to charity; moved to New York City with no support, no friends, and nothing but one suitcase