Daily Inspiration: Meet Kelsey Lam

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsey Lam.

Hi Kelsey, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story? 
Growing up in a Vietnamese immigrant household, we didn’t really say “I love you” much or show much physical affirmation. My parents were hard-working immigrants and self-employed business owners who came here with very little and strived to do everything possible to make sure I was able to get all the opportunities I could. However, one thing was very true about our family: food was our ultimate love language, and as I got older and further developed my self-understanding and identity consciousness of being a second-generation Vietnamese American, I wanted to further expand that connection with both my family and my community. 

While I had my Instagram page earlier, I truly began my platform right when the pandemic peaked in March 2020. I was a college student in my final semester, forced to go home to a place where I left as a naive 18-year-old and came back as a (semi) matured young adult. While it’s a weird (and ongoing healing) experience moving back to a city I didn’t necessarily appreciate as a kid, I turned to the one thing I knew would always bring comfort in the most stressful of times: food. I saw so many more small businesses in Durham than when I was a kid, and I wanted to find a way to support them to the tiniest of my ability. I used Instagram to share what I ate throughout the week and saw so many others who, despite distance and quarantine, were continuing to embrace community in this unique manner. It was this that fueled my passion to grow my business, share more culinary experiences I could have, and build a metaphoric table where everyone could come and go as they pleased. 

The inspiration behind my food content platform is to provide an invitation, a seat at the table, a warm welcoming to enjoy food of all cultures of all small businesses and uplift the idea that we all deserve a space of intentional rest, community, and affirmation. While I’m currently in a space of evolution to my page, food will always sit at the core of what I do and will continue to do. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Social media burnout is a VERY real thing. At a certain point, I found myself losing a lot of interest in pursuing social media as a whole. Being invested in something that can be very time- and energy-consuming is rough in general. However, even in the struggle, I found my way back in a more authentic and intentional manner to continue doing what I love to do at the core while being mindful of my own capacity in this work. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I would identify myself as a food and lifestyle content creator. I focus my content on food, supporting local, sharing different personal life habits, and general things that go on in my life. 

What makes me proud of my work is the fact that I post content that is reflective of what you would get in real life. I’ve done a lot of healing work in coming to love myself authentically, and I think this new evolution of my page is very reflective of that. While I don’t think that necessarily sets me apart from others (because there are so many amazing, authentic people in this community), I think it makes me a tiny and unique part to the community where people can identify that this is my work, or this is who I am. 

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Food, food absolutely makes me happy no matter what situation I am in. There is just something about it being such a unique form of a love language and something that can be shared across similarities, differences, and all things between that I truly love so much. 

Other things that make me happy are my community of care (friends, my parents, my dog, my partner, etc.), my work in my full-time job, and holidays. All of these center community in some way or form, and that’s the overarching thing that brings me happiness in any situation. I would consider myself an extrovert (although age is slightly changing that haha), and nothing brings me more joy and fuel than community and seeing other people happy. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/klsyhamchoi/