My name is Christal (Yanlin) Lyu.
Cantonese is my mother tongue, but I could never win a family argument since none of my family members taught me how to rant in Cantonese.
I was raised in a coastal city in China. I learned how to speak Mandarin and how to memorize the multiplication tables there.
![Shenzhen, China 2007
[ I look a bit mature as a 5-year-old right…? ]](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/fe856647-2fc8-4890-bd08-4581937adf6d/IMG_8599.jpg)
Shenzhen, China 2007
[ I look a bit mature as a 5-year-old right…? ]
![Shenzhen, China 2017
[ Definitely not the best style for a 14-year-old, so don’t say yes to the glamour portraits that your mom chose… ]](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/3edbde24-1d27-48d2-a7cc-5d974095c76a/IMG_8599.png)
Shenzhen, China 2017
[ Definitely not the best style for a 14-year-old, so don’t say yes to the glamour portraits that your mom chose… ]
I moved to Vancouver in 2017. I passed my IELTS test there, and I learned that the temperate marine climate is not so ideal.
Vancouver, BC 2017
Preparing for the Christmas performance
Vancouver, BC 2019
Organized a charity music festival with my team
Vancouver, BC 2020
Hey! I graduated :)
I enrolled in UWaterloo in 2020 and eventually moved there in 2022. I learned how to speak simple Japanese there, just to get extra deals from the nearby sushi shop. I also learned that it’s normal to keep a shovel in the car.
In the middle of nowhere, ON 2022
When your school is 1-hour drive away from where you live (COVID-19 pandemic edition)
Waterloo, ON 2022
A fun film created with my carpool squad 👭
Stratford, ON 2022
An image of my carpool buddy and her snow shovel. Thanks for driving me to school 💛
Today is the 30th of October, 2022. I am typing my life story at 2 am in a typical double shared dormitory room at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. I lost interest in going to Night Safari while I saw monkeys, lizards and snakes on campus. Because I do not find a reason to pay for the zoo while I am currently living in one.
My dorm, Singapore 2022
It’s a really small snake, but it’s strong enough to mentally kill a person with snake phobia.
NTU School of Arts, Design and Media, Singapore 2022
I looked more professional with 3 monitors.
