We all like to say that we are cool. Nowadays nothing comes as a bigger compliment than “cool”. 

At different stage of my life, even though I haven’t had that many stages yet, I admire, and get attracted to different kinds of “cool”. It used to be the super pretty and handsome, super crazy and wild, super rich and famous, super powerful and experienced. 

The new “cool” for me now is an open mind, a heart like an ocean, an authentic personality, and most importantly, kindness. 

Having spent a lot of my social time in these famous London private members clubs and fancy popular restaurants or hotels, I have met so many people that were wearing a “mask”. A mask to sound important, a mask to sound funny, a mask to pretend hard to catch, a mask to pretend happy. I used to as well carry my own mask to hide my shyness, and lack of self confidence that I may sound naive or inexperienced for the scene. However gradually I found myself not have to pretend anymore, and comfortable in my own skin to be happy, or upset, funny or not, experienced or don’t know nothing at all. And I only enjoy when the people I am talking to are as well real, and cool to be themselves. 

Recently in London I welcomed a friend that I met in Barcelona over a year ago in a Spanish language school. She was my afternoon Spanish teacher at the time. While I was only going to school for five days and still had to complete the coursework, we actually had very little time to talk about ourselves. However within that few hours conversation I realised she was a very real person, being the single mother of two young babies, traveled and lived in over 10 different places in her young life, having a musician father and being raised to appreciate freedom over wealth, smiles a lot even though managing two children at home and have to work to make her own income was extremely tough, and never lost her passion for life to learn, to experience, and to love. She is so cool to me and she literally glows. 

When she arrives in London with her four months old baby daughter and bags all over the baby stroller plus a heavy luggage and still smiling like the sunshine, I was like “gosh, she has got to be one of the coolest person in the world”.