A Day in Hong Kong with small.family's Stephanie Cheung

By Julia Gamolina

Stephanie is architectural designer and freelance illustrator born and bred in Hong Kong. She created her illustration business, small.family as a direct response to renderings (and the people that inhabit them) being too often viewed, curated and created through a white male gaze. She is a strong proponent of making Architecture more equitable and inclusive, especially in the role that the built environment plays to support and empower. She is equally dedicated to Muay Thai fighting and aspires to compete in amateur competitions. Stephanie received her Bachelor of Architecture at Cornell University and will be attending the Royal College of Art for a MA in Interior Design starting in September, 2021. She is currently based in Hong Kong.

From Stephanie: Spend a day with me! Julia reached out last year after my small.family illustrations were part of the “Creative Complements” section. I was quite taken aback because I was asked at a time when I was struggling and least expecting it. I was overwhelmed: moving back to Hong Kong and losing my financial independence was never part of the plan. I think a large reason why I felt so down was because my self-worth was too attached to my professional and academic qualifications. I felt like I let my family down - so much time and so many resources were poured into supporting this goal of practicing architecture in the US. I packed up seven years of belongings and moved out in such haste – I felt relieved to be going home, but also felt like I was forced to leave my new adopted home, community, and friends. Inner voices kept invalidating my stress by reminding me that millions of people were dying from Covid. I told myself to just bite my lip –apply to jobs and pass the last few exams. My body would not cooperate despite every intention. I was struggling to get out of bed, and for a while, felt limp and had to slept throughout the day. I would break out in tears and have panic attacks sporadically. I (wrongly) placed a lot of blame on myself and felt consumed by self-hatred.

A big part of my day this year has been setting and achieving tiny goals to remember to what it feels like to accomplish something. Through some hard inner work, learning patience and self-compassion, I remind myself that I am capable. I am rebuilding my sense of identity and self-worth at my own pace, and in my own terms. Discovering Muay Thai is a big part of this recovery. The endorphin rush is addicting – it got me out of bed. Over months of consistent practice, I was amazed by how much I was improving. I learned that strength and skill take consistent effort over a long period of time to build up. There are no shortcuts. The confidence I gained through exercise, as well as lessons in patience and self-compassion trickled into my illustration work, studying, and everything else, really.

I realized that mental and physical health is wholly intertwined, where quality sleep and proper nutrition serve as a backbone. Protecting this balance serves my professional and social life. I am so grateful for everyone that helped lift me out of the heaviest smog. I also recognize how privileged I am to be able to afford the time and resources to heal. I feel rejuvenated now - I am most happy about waking up feeling capable and excited again. I think this journey laid a solid foundation for the next chapter of my life in London. I will be studying Interiors at the Royal College of Art. Turning inward and creating nurturing spaces to bring out the best in people, feels even more meaningful to me now. I am really excited to meet new people and get to know the city.

5:15am: For me, the most refreshing way of starting the day is by drawing! I am currently working on set of custom scaled figures for David Baker Architects. I usually enjoy a chia pudding I made the night before and sip on a hot coffee while drawing. I use their reference images and I love drawing fabric. I enjoy accentuating color tones to celebrate the drapes and folds of the clothing. I like to just get started with the drawing and get back to it later during the day.

6:15am: I join a zoom question bank session for the ARE’s – I am studying for the last two technical exams. Working on questions in a group makes the process feel a lot less lonely! The time difference works out well - I am catching people either on their lunch break, or after work. Attending these sessions with professionals a lot older and more experienced than me was a little intimidating at first, but at least if we get questions wrong, we get support from each other.

7:30am – 9:30am: I leave home and head out to train. I train 5-6x a week in either Muay Thai or strength-based resistance training. I only recently started loving exercise – it makes me feel strong and at times, invincible! This week, I want my body shot kicks to be higher as well as my knee strikes to be tighter and in more of an angle. To do that, I film and watch myself in between drills to see how to make alterations and correct my form. I am improving on and revisiting these tiny goals because seeing myself achieve them makes me feel accomplished.

9:30am: I usually head to a café to get some work done. I love going to the same café in Sheung Wan because of the coffee but more for the familiarity of seeing the same friendly waitstaff every day. I draw for 1-3 hours depending on the due date of the drawing.

12:30pm: When our schedules align, I have a nice lunch out with mother. I have been away from home for so long, I really cherish the time I get to spend with her. When I was working in New York, I used to rush through a soggy sandwich at my desk. I have nothing against it - life gets busy and I am sure that will be the case when I have less autonomy over my schedule, but for that exact reason, I am savoring this!

1:30pm: I fit in 4 hours of studying a day. I am being patient and kind to myself by allowing enough time to learn and understand the material properly. Like Muay Thai, there are no shortcuts! At the height of this depression, it was impossible to even get through a page. My mind was always racing and catastrophizing. What is helping me the most is deliberately practicing of mindfulness. I acknowledge my thoughts without judgement - I do not push them away and let them float around me like a beach ball in the ocean. The self-compassion and reassurance that I am slowly getting there, gently nudges the invasive thoughts away and sets me back to continue reading. I know that there will discrepancies between practice in the UK/HK/US but I am confident that knowing more will always make me a better professional. The breadth of information is vast but learning it bit by bit makes it a little more within reach.

6:00pm: I try to leave a couple of hours before dinner for personal projects, but usually, I am finishing off drawings, or re-doing practice questions. Mother is preparing to downsize, and we are in the process of scanning, consolidating, and digitizing our family film photos. This has been a project that we talked about for years, but finally have the chance to commit to. We are close to being done!

7:00pm: I usually enjoy a home cooked dinner. Today, our helper, Lina, prepared fresh steamed fish and a plate of Bok Choy. My life in Hong Kong is so pampered and different from my life of independence in New York. I am so grateful, and it is difficult to compare these lifestyles. Lina has been helping our family for over twelve years and she will also be leaving Hong Kong to go back home to the Philippines in a few months. We are all preparing for a new chapter.

8:30pm: I end the day by catching up with a friend. I make time to foam roll during the call and sometimes we do a yoga/low impact YouTube workout together over zoom. This habit is so restorative and prevents soreness for training the next day.

9:45pm: I wind down by writing three things that I am grateful for that day. I am actively trying to improve my sleep hygiene by sleeping enough, as well as by getting to bed and waking up at around the same time. Especially after this year, I know how sleep directly impacts my mood and energy levels. I like going through flashcards before bed, but if I am tired, I skip the flashcards and I read a couple pages of a good book before turning off the lights.