‘A lot has happened that turned my normally stable life upside down’

There is a Chinese superstition that the year of your zodiac animal is bad luck. I’m Korean, but I grew up with this religion.

My zodiac animal is the Rabbit, and my mother assured me that 2023 would be good for me, despite it being the Year of the Rabbit. She wasn’t wrong, but neither was the superstition.

It was a more difficult year than usual for me in general: financially, mentally, emotionally, physically. A lot has happened that turned my normally stable life upside down.

To ground myself, I leaned on routine: morning walks, visualization, workouts. I found surprising solace in one of my oldest routines: my weekly Metropolitan Diary assignments.

More than ever, I was looking forward to reading and illustrating these stories about New York, especially the ones that made me laugh or reminded me how resilient and kind people can be.

As my mother predicted, not everything in 2023 was bad. I moved to a new city and made new friends. Thanks to a New York Times marketing campaign, I was shown my journal illustrations covering the inside and outside of a subway car. And I finished my first graphic novel, “49 Days,” which will be released in March.

I’m excited for 2024 and the Year of the Dragon. Whatever comes with it, good or bad, I will be grateful to continue my Metropolitan Diary routine and turn the small, memorable moments of readers’ lives into art.