Name - Yawynne Yem
Location - Tāmaki Makaurau
Profession - Writer & PR Professional
Age - 22
DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN A SINGLE SENTENCE?
I am vivacious, resilient, outgoing, creative and funny-enough-to-have-a-bit-of-TikTok-clout.
WHAT ARE YOU REALLY GOOD AT?
At following my gut. Sometimes, my friends tell me off because I make decisions very impulsively, but it’s never ever gone wrong. I am a huge believer that everything happens for a reason.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
What I really want out of my life at the moment is balance. It’s no one’s fault but mine, but I’ve got this terrible habit of spreading myself too thin (literally had 4 jobs at the beginning of this year). It’s a mixture of imposter syndrome and being a first-generation immigrant. I’m trying to get rid of this paranoia that by saying no, I’ll lose everything. But what even is everything? When you’re spread so far and wide, all you end up losing is yourself.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK AND WHY?
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton. I also just finished Ghosts last weekend, and god, I wish I could write like Dolly. The way she describes people/characters is outrageous. I love how with even the nichest of references, you can immediately find a similar archetype in your life. Her writing is really inspiring to me, god I want to write a book like that one day.
WHO DO YOU ADMIRE AND WHY?
My Mum is my favourite person in this world. I know everyone says that but seriously... She came to Aotearoa for my sister and I, and traded her fancy embassy job in Cambodia to be a checkout-cashier. All without batting an eyelid. I love how even though she doesn’t have much (in capitalism’s view), she still gives so much to anyone and everyone. Every time I visit her at work at the supermarket, she’ll be buying the younger staff a chocolate bar, or giving a random customer a hug.
WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Old people eating alone and parents who struggle to provide for their children.
YAWYNNE SELF-STYLED IN
RED ROSE OVERDRESS
WHAT’S YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY?
Putting my finger in a power socket. I have this fuzzy image of walking towards the wall to it, and my Mum yelling at me. Everything goes black after that though.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE DREAM?
Envision this, you and Harry Styles are sitting in an empty cinema together. The entire time, he says nothing but just stares at you. Don’t you wish you could steal my brain for that memory? It’s seriously the best dream I’ve ever had. I had it when I was about 14, and here I am still talking about it. It was that vivid. Though he said nothing, he didn’t need to.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO TELL US?
Can someone please turn that above dream into my 14-year-old self having a That’s So Raven vision moment? Fangirl moment aside, find me @yawynne on Instagram.
RED ROSE OVERDRESS
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