Name: Jen Kwok
Pronouns: she/her
Age: 43
Jen Kwok is writer, musician and non-profit leader who works at the intersection of art and collective healing. As a composer, Jen has written music for Sesame Street, Peloton & Vox Media. As an actor, Jen has appeared on TV shows such as Netflix’s “Friends From College”, and performed comedy at theaters and venues all around the US. She is currently based in NY’s Hudson Valley and is mom to a kid and goldendoodle.
Please answer the following (each answer should be no more than 200 words):
What’s currently keeping you up at night (existential dread, grocery lists, life epiphanies, imaginary arguments, or all of the above…)?
Lately I’ve been waking up at around 4am to a mix of anxiety and FOMO. I’m anxious knowing that I have to get up in a couple of hours, already feeling the overwhelm of the tasks I need to complete. I have FOMO in terms of missing the full amount of sleep that I should be getting.
What valuable lessons have you learned and unlearned from your ancestors? (Family, cultural, chosen, or imagined.)
I have learned that it takes tremendous strength to fully be who you are–and that hiding or contorting yourself to outside expectations is a misuse of energy, and ultimately a betrayal to yourself and others. I have learned that it is best to show up authentic and truthful, even if it means that you will be facing judgment or rejection. I have had to unlearn that silence equals safety.
Where are you in the liminal space of age and/or identity right now?
I am in the liminal space of being both a mother and daughter at the same time, and in the awareness that I’m at very different parts of each of those journeys. I am in between being the most creatively powerful I’ve ever been while also having the least amount of physical energy I’ve ever had. I am in between expressing myself in smaller, safer spaces and being received or made visible in larger, more unknown spaces.
From the eight questions below, select and answer FIVE (each answer should be no more than 200 words):
If you were a ghost, who would you haunt—and how would you let your presence be known (Smoke, rattling chains, moving furniture)?
What’s a place, habit, or moment that reliably feels a little bit enchanted to you?
I love aquariums. Watching sea creatures move underwater feels like a window into another world. It’s a reminder that there are realities within our own world where different rules apply–that different expressions of beauty, biology, movement, time and space exist. Knowing that expands my own capacity for possibility and wonder.
What did you believe you were “running out of time” for—and how do you see that differently now?
What are you learning to live alongside, rather than change or “fix”?
When/Where have you (quietly or loudly-both count) refused the script you were handed?
I am unwilling to actively engage in systems and dynamics that are broken, and that have no desire or capacity to heal or evolve. It took me a long time to find true alignment with communities and friendships that embody open-hearted collaboration and support, and that has led to me being incredibly discerning about where I give my time and energy.
What brings you power, pleasure, or joy that once felt impractical, indulgent, or “too much”?
Engaging in spiritual or energetic practices on a regular basis is something that feels so powerful and important. When I first started doing this work, even a twenty minute meditation felt like “wasting time” because it was not “productive” through the lens of our capitalistic society. Connecting with myself used to feel like an indulgence because we are asked to be so disconnected throughout the day in order to accomplish more. Now, I realize that it is much more costly to not to connect with myself.
What bodily investment do you spend time or money on that others might call “vain,” but you know is actually about visibility, ritual and power?
I have always seen my hair as a canvas for me to experiment with. It is a way for me to express myself that feels evolving and not too serious.
Here at AGECRAFT After Dark, we view aging as initiation and empowerment—but let’s be honest it’s not all glow-ups. What part of aging genuinely sucks for you right now?
Growing older is hard because of all the years I had with a younger body. Things just worked better and required little to no maintenance. Learning to truly take care of my health has been a huge learning curve. It makes me realize how much I took my health for granted when I was younger.
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