Back in Taiwan, my hometown, the seasons shift quietly, and a tree’s presence can remain almost the same throughout the year. After relocating to Canada in 2024, I began to witness how each season arrives with a distinct character— bright blooms, deep greens, blazing reds, and long stretches of white. Living alone far from home, I often find myself learning how to adapt to an ever-changing environment. This piece draws inspiration from a tree as it moves through the four seasons.

This work takes the syllables and prosody of the Chinese idiom “隨遇⽽安” (suí / yù / ér / ān) as its motivic source. Mandarin phrases often have two sides—this idiom can be positive, meaning to adapt to one’s environment and remain calm and content in any situation; they can also be negative, meaning to be satisfied with the status quo and not seek improvement. With this tension at its core, the work depicts an individual amid migration and change, pulled between “settling” and “moving forward,” adjusting their stance, and re-rooting after each landing. And I hope that, in my twenties, wherever I am, I can keep growing like a tree.