I noticed a pattern with my past relationships.
They begin when I’m in a brand new surrounding, flourish through hours of late-night conversation that last past sunrise, eventually undergo the test of distance and circumstantial separation, ultimately taper off in six months, and always end mere days before Valentine’s.
So unlike Katy Perry’s popular “Teenage Dream” song, I’ve actually never had anyone to be my consistent Valentine.
This year, though, proved to be different.
[slideshow_deploy id=’5354′]The weekend before Valentine’s, I arrived in San Francisco from Los Angeles, ready for the orientation for the 2013 Miss Chinatown USA Pageant. Annually held in the heart of the country’s largest Chinatown, the pageant has run for over 55 years, giving young women a platform to showcase their talents and ambitions, awarding them with scholarships, and instilling a sense of cultural heritage through community service.
Prior to leaving for San Francisco, my LA love life had followed the pattern cited above — a relationship that had started happily in July ended tumultuously in January. Thankfully, I’d distracted myself with honing my pageant talent performance — a self-taught Bollywood dance — and learning to walk in three different pairs of three-inch heels.
I returned to the Bay, excited to reunite with my original love, the city of San Francisco, and to take my mind off any traces of the unpleasant past.
The two weeks that I spent with the pageant became two of the best weeks of my life.
The eleven other contestants, from New York, Boston, Hawaii, Chicago, Seattle, Texas, and the San Francisco Bay Area, were multi-talented, hard-working, and fun-loving young women. We stayed in a hotel, rooming in assigned pairs on the same floor. There were group runs to the hotel gym, constant chatter in the hallway, and late night snacking sessions aplenty. My roommate and I danced to the clock radio, sang into our hairbrushes, and fell asleep after copious girl talk.
For the first week, we all rehearsed for the upcoming pageant performance and attended press conferences and public functions at restaurants in Chinatown. We gave speeches in front of sponsors and shared stories with each other at every meal.
Not only did we travel together, we were accompanied by a group of young men who were deemed our “escorts.” They walked arm in arm with us throughout the hilly streets of Chinatown, removed our jackets and pulled out chairs for us every time we went indoors, served us from the platters of steaming food, waited patiently for us outside of restrooms, ran errands with us, and helped us document every Kodak moment with our cameras and their own.
On Valentine’s, they even surprised us with chocolates in heart-shaped boxes featuring Disney princesses and knocked on our doors that morning to deliver single-stemmed red roses. They also came with us on our tourist excursions around San Francisco, walking the Golden Gate Bridge, chowing down on clam chowder and scarfing down In-n-Out at Fisherman’s Wharf, running along Coit Tower, shopping in Union Square, bowling in the Presidio, and buying tapioca and tarts in Chinatown.
The experience of enjoying my hometown with eleven new sisters and our gentlemanly escorts was more fun than I could remember having in the city for a long time.
During our second week, we visited different family associations in the nooks and crannies of Chinatown. Each one, a community of members sharing the same last name, welcomed our group of girls and escorts into their buildings, readying trays of fresh fruit, peanut candy, and delectable pastries for us and ensuring that none of us left without a red envelope in hand. My family association, the Yuans, even blew firecrackers at the entrance of the building to celebrate my arrival. Although I entered in as a stranger, they made the trip feel like a homecoming.
Miss Chinatown truly was an unforgettable adventure. As I said goodbye to the girls, I reminded myself to keep the faith. I know that our 12-member sisterhood had indeed followed the preliminary parts of my pattern: forming in a new environment, igniting through hours of conversation, and getting put through geographical separation. I know, though, that our sisterhood will sustain the test of time and we will all stay committed to our common aspiration of making our mark in this world through representing our community.
And I feel better knowing that I do have 11 new Valentines throughout the country.
我注意到我过去的恋爱一些特定的路线。
它们通常从一个新环境开始，然后在每晚不眠不休直到日出的谈话中升温，随后因为距离和环境的考验走下坡路，最后在六个月之内土崩瓦解，而且每次都在情人节前几天结束。
跟KATY PERRY的著名的“TEENAGE DREAM”这首歌不一样，我从来都没有一个能持续的恋人。
但是，今年，一切都变得不同了。
在情人节前的周末，我从洛杉矶到了三藩，准备2013年全美华埠小姐盛会。这个盛会每年在美国最大的唐人街举行，已经举办了超过55届。这个盛会给年轻女孩们一个展示她们才能与抱负的机会，对出众者进行奖励，并通过社区服务给他们灌输传统文化的意识。
在离开三藩之前，我的洛杉矶感情生活沿着上述的情形发展——在七月欢喜开始，在一月的闹剧中收场。谢天谢地，我可以通过这个盛会学会的表演来转移自己注意力——一段自学的宝莱坞舞蹈——也学着穿三双不同的3英寸高跟鞋行走自如。
我回到湾区，激动地与我的初恋——三藩重聚，忘掉那些痛苦的过往。
在盛会里度过的两周成为了我人生中最美妙的两周。
其余十一个分别来自纽约、波士顿、夏威夷、芝加哥、西雅图、德克萨斯州和三藩湾区的选手都是多才多艺、奋发图强、伶俐可爱的女人。我们住在酒店的同一层，两两被分配住在一间。我们一起去酒店健身房跑步，在走廊持续聊天，在深夜吃着零食闲聊。我和室友跟着电台音乐翩翩起舞，把吹风机当做麦克风歌唱，又在八卦闲聊中进入梦乡。
第一周我们为盛会表演彩排，出席新闻发布会，以及在唐人街的饭店里参加公众活动。我们在赞助商面前高声演讲，在每顿饭都互相分享自己的故事。
我们不仅一起旅行，而且我们被一群被视作我们“保镖”的年轻男子一路护送。他们肩并肩走着，一路护送我们走过唐人街起伏的街道，在每次进屋时帮我们拿走外套，拖出椅子，给我们端上热腾腾的美食，在女洗手间外耐心地等待，给我们跑腿，用大家的相机帮我们记录下每一个精彩瞬间。
在情人节那天，他们甚至给了我们更大的惊喜。他们带着用心形盒包装的巧克力、迪士尼公主玩偶和红玫瑰在早晨敲门叫醒我们。他们也陪我们在三藩短途游玩，步行金门大桥，在渔人码头吃着蛤杂烩，狼吞虎咽到吃不下，在科伊特塔旁跑步，在联合广场购物，在普雷西迪奥打保龄，在唐人街买树薯粉和果馅饼。
有这十一位好姐妹和彬彬有礼的护卫在一起，在家乡的感觉比过去记忆中度过那么久家乡更有趣。
在第二周，我们走访了唐人街角角落落里不同的家族。在这里，每一个家族的成员都有共同的姓。他们热烈欢迎我们和护卫们进入他们的住宅，准备好了新鲜水果、花生糖和色香味俱全的酥皮点心，并确保我们美国人手上都有红包。我去的袁氏家族甚至在入口点燃烟花欢迎我的到来。虽然我以陌生人的身份进入，但他们让我有了家的感觉。
唐人街小姐盛会确实是一场难以忘记的经历。对闺蜜们告别的时候，我提醒自己要忠于自己的信仰。我知道我们十二个姐妹沿着我之前的模式：在新环境结识，在畅谈中升温，最后却要各自分飞。但是我知道，我们的姐妹之情经得起时间的考验，而且我们也会终于共同的抱负：代表我们的民族，在这个世界上留下印记。
我为自己拥有十一个遍布全国的好姐妹而开心不已。