During the pandemic, Tiana Kuo, now a senior at Hillsborough High School, had lost her way.
“I actually ranted on Google Classroom,” she said.
And surprisingly, Kuo said putting all her emotions in one space was “a relief in a way.”
“That actually really helped me find my own identity at that time,” she said. “I basically collected all of those writings I made and created poetry.”
She submitted those poetries to a bunch of competitions. Her poetry was recognized in a national high school competition called Just Poetry and an international poetry competition through the New Zealand Poetry Society.
Having her poetry recognized in the national and international poetry competitions gave Kuo a boost of confidence in her writings.
In fact, she authored her first book, “Abiding Adventures: A Memoir.” It’s an atypical story of family and culture – her parents are from Taiwan – health, cult life, and her synesthetic discoveries. Her English teacher, Alysia Puma, edited her book.
“Tiana is completely a self-starter,” Puma said. “Her initiative and drive comes from her deep passion to write and share her story. She recognizes how her life experiences distinguish her from her peers, and rather than see those differences as idiosyncratic, she is able to celebrate them, highlighting how the challenges have opened her world view and gifted her with the ability to accept differences as strengths.
“This is just the beginning for Tiana. Publishing has connected her with the community and reinforced her gifts as worthy of highlighting and developing. I have no doubt Tiana will be a major contributor to any college campus, and I look forward to her future successes.”
In the book, Kuo starts from the very beginning – her birth in Texas and childhood until her family moved to New York City when she was 5. That move – which was supposed to be a new job opportunity for the family – turned into eight years of an unknown.
“I was born in Texas and had a really nice childhood growing up until 5,” she said. “It was very whimsical.”
When the family moved to New York City, they discovered the new job opportunity was actually a performing arts cult. Kuo does not name the cult in her memoir.
“We couldn’t do a lot things,” Kuo explained. “We had to live there or near there for eight years with little freedom. I luckily went to school nearby, but my dad had to perform all over the world every year for six months and I wasn’t able to see him.”
Things changed when her parents were able to get green cards and move on from the cult. The family moved to Hillsborough when Kuo was in the sixth grade.
“It was really hard,” Kuo said of adjusting. “We moved to New Jersey and I found a whole different environment I had to get used to. I developed a lot of anxiety, depression.”
During that time, Kuo also discovered she had something called synesthesia, a neurophysiological trait in which the stimulation of one sense causes the automatic experience of another sense, according to Britannica.
“I call it my ‘special ability,'” Kuo said. “The synesthesia I have is that I can sense colors, genders, and personalities in each letter, shape or number, any symbols.
“For example, a letter ‘T’ is yellow and it’s a boy.”
Growing up, Kuo thought everyone had similar senses. She also had a hard time reading because what she saw was “messy” on paper.
“It actually says 2% of people have it,” she said. “It’s more of a modern idea.”
With her book, “Abiding Adventures,” Kuo said finding out she had synesthesia was a big part of why she wanted to write her book. The letter “A” is in red and is how Kuo sees the letter.
“I really wanted to share this with the community and everyone,” she said.
Her book includes the poem, “Crystal-Clear Critters,” which she won in the Just Poetry national competition and is found on Amazon and is circulating within the Somerset County Library System.
Crystal-Clear Critters
There are those in the dark sky,
dangling loosely upon one day’s remedy;
how it simply exists where my sight persists,
to those who are untouchable, flatters living curiosity.
The silent shimmers soak into my drifting mind,
and my eyes draw criss-cross lines of signs
from legendary luminous carvings;
So I could paint pictures in words for humankind,
as its enchanted gaze runs through the pitch-black solution,
glistening its limitless layered points in universal time.
All dimensions of a broad breath I take in swirl over.
Maybe, one day, I can reach the desperation of the sky;
Maybe, one day, I can shoot up for reality’s mission;
For now I am ready to dive into a reflected dream.
As Kuo reflects on those initial writings in Google Classroom, she said she has found a more logical side of “Why am I … me? through growth from that illogical time.
“I think also now I have the confidence to speak my own voice from all that I went through,” she said.
And as for the future, continuing to write whether more books and/or poetry is on the horizon, Kuo said.
