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Happy new year! I hope this note finds you enjoying the warmth and happiness of connecting with loved ones.
This past summer, my family and I enjoyed a wonderful month in China during which we had a chance to visit with some of you. Since then, I’ve been barricaded in my office in Los Angeles, learning and creating as I write my second book, on how to find the career of your dreams. I hope to release this book in the summer of 2017.
The new year also brings another fun new project, as I launch a new blog series on my WeChat public platform, every Sunday and Thursday night China time at 9:00pm. Called TWO MINUTES OF JOY #两分钟的JOY#, each post will start with a 2-3 minute audio file of me reading an essay I’ve written about love, or life, or careers. Following that, we’ll insert my English essay, and its Chinese translation. This project will give you a great chance to practice speaking local American English with me!
Since everyone seems to find me on WeChat or Weibo, this will be my last email to this list. Below is a recent post from this new WeChat blog. (Sorry I don’t know how to include the audio file here, so if you want to hear that, please click through the title to the original post!)
If you like this post, you can subscribe to the WeChat blog at <ohqueens> or via the QR code at bottom. If you’re not on WeChat or Weibo, you can still follow me on Facebook here.
Cheers to a new year in 2017 – and a new chance for us to get it right, both in our lives and in our world.
Big hug,
Joy
#4: Can we all stop obsessing about beauty, already?

One thing that makes Meghan different from many of the other pop stars out there is her body shape.
Because she’s not skinny-skinny like Taylor Swift or Selena Gomez, Hollywood calls her “plus-sized.” Because she dares to be normal-sized and still be herself, Rolling Stone magazine in 2014 deemed her the year’s “Most Unlikely Pop Star.” Well, in the face of skepticism from the overlords of the music industry, Meghan Trainor became a global icon for self-love – and oh by the way, won the 2016 Grammy for Best New Artist.
Check out this one of her lyrics: “I’ve been on a low-hater diet.”
When I first heard it, I thought, “Is ‘hate’ too strong a word to describe how women feel about their bodies?” Then I realized, no, sadly, many woman do regard their bodies with… hatred.
Here in the United States, there’s been a growing movement, called “fat acceptance” or “body positivity,” which encourages media and society to expand our definition of beauty. This movement tells us “All bodies are good bodies! We’re all beautiful!”
There’s lots to admire about this movement. I support the broadening of our definition of beauty, and the valuing of the beauty of every woman.
At the same time, I must say, I am getting sick and tired of all the attention to beauty.
Of course beauty is important, and of course as humans we have an instinctive attraction to physical beauty. I try my best to look beautiful. But seriously, beauty is not everything! We are more than just our bodies. We are capable of so much more than simply looking hot. We need to learn to value women not just for our beauty, but also for all those things that make each of us human.
Your body. Your face. YOU. You are great enough.
The way to get the world to stop judging us all simply on our bodies, and to start paying attention to who the hell we actually are, is for us all to get on a low-hater diet, and start unleashing our voices and our talents into the world.
I mean, just look at Meghan Trainor. Just listen to her. Her beats, her lyrics, her voice, and her sassy, swaggering self-confidence. Everything about her just makes me wanna get up and dance. Have a listen, and you’ll see why I’m a fan.
Ain’t she great?! That’s it for today, folks. And hey everyone, don’t forget to SMILE BIG & ENJOY YOURSELF!

官网: www.joychenyu.com
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