Whole in All Direction | Part 2: Reinvention and Work
University Years
By university, she was ready to escape. Moving to Edmonton felt liberating. She studied Human Ecology, a field focused on how people and communities interact. “It’s like sociology but more applied – how families function, how society connects.”
At university, she discovered independence, and also her limits. “I had a bad temper, I always reacted emotionally. I made a lot of mistakes, but reflection – being told hard truths by my family – taught me to change.” It was the beginning of her lifelong journey of self-awareness and growth.
Lessons in Leadership
After graduating, Mimi worked in retail management. “They flew me between Edmonton and Vancouver to train at other stores,” she says. Her mentors became mirrors: some inspiring, others serving as examples of what not to become. “I could tell the difference between good and bad leadership and who I wanted to be more like. That set the steps for me to become a better person.” Thinking about her family’s background in beauty, she decided to return to it. Her grandmother had owned nine salons in Bangkok, serving celebrities and high-profile clients. “My mom still runs one now,” Mimi said. “I wanted to learn hair so I could understand what they do.”
She trained as a hairstylist and began working in Richmond. “That’s where I met Nick (her partner).”
Family and Roots
Her grandmother’s story continued to shape how Mimi viewed risk and sacrifice. “She was really famous, and then she came here and became a housewife. She probably assumed a lot of her choices, but she just made it work.”
Living in Canada as a Thai Chinese family came with the same mix of pride and limitation her grandmother once faced – language barriers, new customs, and the need to adapt. Mimi didn’t learn hairdressing out of nostalgia, but with intention, to understand her family’s craft and carry it forward in her own way.
