Fête Pulse with Mel Hwang

Interviewed & Translated by Jenni Li
Written by Mel Hwang

我們採訪了 Mel Hwang，Mel Inspired 樂觀平台的創始人。除了探討近年熱議的環保話題，隨著國際婦女節的臨近，Mel 也與我們分享了她關於女性身份的思考。

We interviewed digital content creator, Mel Hwang who shared her thoughts on how we can protect the environment in our everyday lives. As International Women’s Day is fast approaching, she has shared her thoughts on the occasion and its importance. Read on to learn more about this beautiful woman.

IT'S BEEN A FEW MONTHS SINCE THE LAUNCH OF OUR MAGAZINE AND YOUR FEATURE, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE PUBLISHED IN OUR ‘DREAMS TAKE FLIGHT’ EDITION?
FÊTE CHINOISE 「夢想飛翔」第五期雜誌刊登了你的個人故事，對此你有什麼感受？

It's an honour! I feel like Fête Chinoise is doing so much for our community, so being recognized as a creator and being able to share where my dreams came from is so special. I hope that my story might have helped someone else's dream take flight too. 

我感到十分榮幸！Fête Chinoise 一直在為我們的社會做出貢獻。能夠得到平台的認可，能在這裡與讀者分享我的夢想之旅，是我的殊榮。同時，也希望我的故事能夠幫助到他人，讓更多人的夢想啟航。

YOU COME FROM A TECH BACKGROUND, WHAT INVENTION WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THE NEXT DECADE TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT?
基於你曾經的科技領域背景，你希望見到人們開發出什麼樣的環保產品？

I think that there’s room for tech to help support our personal journeys of being more environmentally-friendly even though I come from an ad tech background. Helpful apps could be created to help you track your own progress in changes you're trying to make or ones that prompt you with certain changes.

我的背景是廣告科技，並不十分精通科技這個主題，但我認為科技有很大空間能夠幫助每個人更好地參與環境保護。比如，開發新的應用程序，方便人們記錄環保行為，或按時提示用戶養成新的環保習慣。

WHAT CAN WE DO IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES TO PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON ELECTRIC CARS?
在生活中，我們可以做哪些事情來保護環境？你是怎樣看待電動轎車的？

Realistically, I think finding what changes you can do and that fit your life easily will make it a more sustainable practice in your life (i.e. it'll become second nature instead of a chore). If everyone found a couple of new habits that they did all the time, we'd make great headway. I think it's about being understanding of the fact that we've grown up with a lot of environmentally-unsustainable conveniences. To try and change that drastically, or eliminate it all across the board, will realistically result in no change at all. But if we all start small, make those changes second nature, and keep continuing to add changes to our daily lives, it'll make a big impact.

從實際角度出發，我認為最可持續的做法是找到符合個人生活方式的改變（讓改變成為習慣，而不是完成任務），如果所有人都能適應一兩個新的環保習慣，並持之以恆，這就已經是一大進步。今天的我們需要去用心領會這個事實 — 許多環境問題正是來自於過去人類對於便利的追求。一味追求一百八十度的轉變，或即刻消除所有環境問題，是不切實際的。但如果我們都從身邊的小事做起，將小小的改變培養成第二天性，將良好環保行為持續下去，就會為環境帶來廣泛的改善。

I think there’s a lot that we can do today to help our environment without an electric car. A ton of things in our daily lives affect the environment much greater than car emissions, which slight adjustments can change. If you wear your clothes 9 months longer, it’s been proven that it equates to a significantly higher decrease in carbon emissions than some cars!

除了開電動轎車，我們能為環保做的其實還有很多。影響我們生活環境的不僅僅是尾氣排放量，許多小的改變更能帶來的巨大的環保效應，比如有意延長每件衣服的使用壽命（每件都多穿九個月），較開電動轎車能更好地降低碳排放。

AS A DIGITAL CONTENT CREATOR, WE'RE WONDERING WHAT PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT MEANS TO YOU?
作為數字內容創作者，「環境保護」對你意味著什麼呢？

It's huge. I mean, this is a big topic of discussion not only in the digital world but it's such an important conversation globally across the map. It's amazing to see so many more people becoming passionate about this issue. Being able to have platforms to not only consume but also share our perspectives on it is a big responsibility. I think it's important to recognize that we all should be doing our best. It doesn't mean we are or that we should all be perfect in our habits (or lack thereof) of being environmentally responsible, but every day we should be trying our best (whatever that looks like for you), and that's what's important.

這是一個很大的話題，不僅僅是在數字媒體界，環境保護在全球也是一個重要的主題。當下，越來越多的人對環保表現出極大的積極性。建設供大家能夠攝取環保信息，同時也能分享觀點與心得的平台是一個巨大的責任。對個體而言，重要的是能夠有意識地做到自己的最好。但這並不代表我們都要做到完美無缺，建立完全理想的環保習慣（或剔除一切不良的習慣），比這更重要的是，我們每天都堅持去做自己力所能及的。

IT'S GOING TO BE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY ON MARCH 8TH. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? DO YOU PLAN TO CELEBRATE?
三月八號是國際婦女節，你怎樣看這個節日？打算怎樣慶祝？

I'll be in Mexico with 2 of the largest female influences in my life - my mom and grandma. I plan on celebrating with them and recognizing how hard they had it as a woman during their generation. I think IWD is important in recognizing not only where we're going and what we need to do to improve, but also giving recognition and respect to the women who paved the path for us to where we are today. It also reminds us that we have the responsibility of paving the path for our future females. 

這一天，我會與我人生中最重要的兩位女性 — 我的母親和祖母，在墨西哥度假。我打算與她們一起慶祝，一起回顧在她們的時代裡作為女性不得不面對的困難。國際婦女節的意義不僅在於展望我們將去向何處，我們該在哪方面做出改進，也在於認可與尊重曾為我們鋪路的女性。同時，這個節日也提醒著我們要為未來的女性創造更好的環境。

FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS REGARDLESS OF SEX AND GENDER?
關於國際婦女節，你有哪些話想與你的粉絲們分享呢？

That this day isn’t about hating individuals who aren't women. It’s not about screaming that we're important and that we don't have enough (although those things may be true). It's about celebrating how wonderful and special it is to have women in our world, that our unique journeys as women should be recognized, and that celebrating women is about celebrating all life.

這個節日不是在仇視除女性之外的所有人，也不是在大聲疾呼女性的重要性以及女性在社會上面臨的不公（雖然這些可能都是客觀存在的）。這一天是關於慶祝 — 世界因為女性的存在而美好與特別，每一位女性的旅程都值得被認可，慶祝女性實際上就是慶祝世上的一切生命。