Hi!  I’m Angeline Chew-Longshore.  I am your sensible girlfriend who you turn to when you’re having a hard time in life, in transition or need supportive insightful words of wisdom.  It’s not that I am some wise guru who knows all.  Just think of me as your girlfriend who has been through a lot in life and just wants to help.  Through my experiences, you may be able to save yourself months or even years of suffering.  I’ll tell you stories about myself or things I’ve learned that deal with being a woman/mother, life challenges, self-esteem, life choices, relationships, sexuality and style.

Here’s the main reason I started this blogsite:
I found myself having random five-minute conversations with women in my daily life that always ended with them saying they felt inspired by my story or my insight.. and I should really write it down and share it with other women.   I noticed that these women were smart, capable women with the personal goal of working toward bettering themselves and/or their life.  They were just like me!   The only difference is that they hadn’t found the great resources that helped me through the same dilemmas.

I am lucky to have experienced so many life challenges so that I can share my solutions with you.   Here’s how and why I’ve collected so much insight.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, a San Fernando “Valley Girl”.   I grew up with five siblings in a household that struggled to make ends meet.   My father was raised in military schools in China and used that model to raise his children, that is to say, we were ritualistically tortured and abused psychologically, emotionally, verbally and physically.   I was an intimidated, shy child who was not allowed to speak in the presence of her father and didn’t speak much at all.   I grew up socially inept, afraid of life, but I knew one day I could and would break free. I wasn’t able to finish college because at nineteen years old, I had to financially support my younger sister and brother, become their surrogate parent and pay the mortgage when my parents divorced and became involved in their new marriages.  I had a lot of disadvantages starting at an early age, but I knew in time I could turn things around.  It has taken me years to become the person who I was meant to be– the real me after years of self-help and working off the layers of damage from abuse.

I owe my strength and determination and moral code to my mother.   I learned a lot by her example.   Although she did live as the traditional Chinese wife who left the decisions up to her husband– she was almost the polar opposite personality type from my dad.   Raised on Oahu, Hawaii, she was a laid back optimist. She believed being kind to others was more important than religion.   She showed me that being resourceful and using common sense could get you far, maybe farther than you might expect.   She taught me to do the best job you can do, no matter what you are doing.   She taught me that each person has something good in them and to let them know what they are good at.   She taught me that sex is natural and pleasure is best shared with someone you love.   She taught me that anything you learn is even more profound once you share it.  And she taught me that doing good in the world is not to rack up brownie points, but when you help someone else, you get as much out of it as they do.

This proved to be true in those random five-minute conversations that I found myself having with women.   I always felt that I was getting as much out of it as they were and I thought why not take their advice and help as many women as I can.

So stop in from time to time.   I hope you come away inspired enough to pass on the insight to other women in this world.

Your Sensible Girlfriend,

-Angeline