Children Aren’t Here to Fit In: They’re Here to Create What Comes Next – An Interview with Julie Suen

What if the children we’ve been trying to teach are actually here to teach us?

Most of us can remember a moment when we learned that fitting in felt safer than standing out. For Julie Suen, that lesson began in childhood and sparked a lifelong journey of exploring belonging, authenticity, and the wisdom we often lose as we grow older. Today, as the founder of New Earth Trust & Star Children Academy, she is helping parents, educators, and conscious leaders rethink what it means to truly see and support the next generation.

In this conversation, Julie shares why some children struggle within traditional systems, how parents can nurture intuition and inner knowing, and why listening may be one of the most powerful gifts we can offer a child. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, grandparent, or simply someone who believes a better future is possible, this dialogue invites you to look beyond labels and discover what children may be trying to teach us all.

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Julie, it’s great to have you with us today. I’d love to hear your story and your journey into mindfulness, consciousness, and spirituality. Maybe take us back to your childhood.
Did you have any faith experiences growing up, or did that come later in life?

Julie Suen: Thank you so much for having me. It’s such an honor to be here with you and all of the beautiful awakened souls.

I spent the first half of my childhood in Hong Kong, a very busy city in Asia. In most of Asia, I feel like Buddhism is pretty deeply rooted. Even if you don’t come from a family with a specific religious affiliation or faith tradition, Buddhism is often just part of the culture and daily life.

Because of that, I was familiar with Buddhist philosophy from a very young age. But no, I didn’t grow up in a household with any formal religious teachings or spiritual practices.

My understanding is that you moved to Canada as a child. Can you take us through what that experience was like, and ultimately, where you began to encounter spiritual experiences?

Julie Suen: That move was hard because my family didn’t have a lot of money at the time. As far as I know, although it was never expressly confirmed, we moved because my dad was running away from debt.

With only a couple of thousand dollars in his pocket, our family of four moved to Canada. Eventually, my grandmother joined us as well. I was ten years old.

How old were you when you moved? Did you speak English at the time?

Julie Suen: Very, very elementary English. We do learn English in Hong Kong, but it wasn’t conversational. I really learned the language after we immigrated.

As the eldest child in an immigrant family, which is something you see often, you become the advocate and representative for the entire family.

Wow. That had to be incredibly stressful as a child. Was it adventurous, or was it overwhelming?

Julie Suen: I liked the adventure part. What I didn’t like was having to be my family’s representative and advocate all the time.

I was the one responsible for ordering things, calling the phone company, and handling interactions with the outside world. It felt like I was constantly managing things that most children never have to think about.

Talk to me about arriving in Canada. Beyond the language barrier, what were some of the biggest changes that stood out to you?

Julie Suen: The culture. The weather. Everything.

We moved to what felt like the middle of nowhere in Alberta, near Edmonton, and it was such a shock.

At the same time, looking back now, I can see how those experiences shaped me into who I am today. I think all of us can look back on our lives and recognize how our challenges prepared us for our paths. That’s one reason I’m so passionate about the voices of children.

But the cultural shock was real. And so was the racism.

How did that show up for you?

Julie Suen: Even when it isn’t explicit, a child feels it.

When you’re suddenly exposed to such a dramatic change, and your parents don’t necessarily have the awareness or the language to help you process those feelings, something settles in.

One of the strongest memories I carry from childhood and beyond is this sense of not belonging. Feeling different. I felt like I was always the outsider.

That sense of not belonging is something so many people can relate to. How did that experience shape your path forward? Obviously, you’ve been very successful in life, but I’m curious how those early experiences influenced your career and the person you became.

Julie Suen: When we’re kids, teenagers, or even young adults, it’s so common for us to prioritize a sense of belonging and become identified with that need over the truth of who we really are.

It’s such a common thread. I think this is especially true for those of us who may identify as coming from other worldly places, such as the stars. There can be an even deeper feeling of being different.

I don’t want to brush past this because it deserves to be honored. I know it’s an experience shared by many of us. For a lot of people, these childhood moments are when we begin to give up our magic or hide parts of who we are in exchange for a sense of belonging.

Did you find that was true for you? Where were you trying to find belonging? Was there a particular group you were trying to fit into?

Julie Suen: I don’t think I can point to one specific group because it changed depending on the environment I was in.

But your question reminds me of something funny that surfaced for me just yesterday. I was at an Asian market buying my favorite fruit, and I actually have one sitting in front of me right now—a persimmon.

The reason it came up is because I remembered a moment from first grade.

I was in a crowded public school classroom in Hong Kong with nearly fifty students. One day, our teacher told us to bring our favorite fruit to school the next day.

I went home so excited and told my grandmother we had to go to the market because I needed to buy a persimmon. She looked at me a little puzzled but said, “Okay, let’s go.”

We went to the market, bought my persimmon, and I carefully put it in my backpack. I was so proud and excited.

The next day, the teacher asked everyone to take out their favorite fruit. As I looked around the room, I saw apples. Bananas. Apples. Bananas.

And there I was with my persimmon—this beautiful, magical fruit sitting in my backpack.

Do you know what I did?

I never took it out.

This is the first time I’ve consciously remembered that feeling. The feeling of, “I don’t want to be different, so I have to hide something true.”

At what point did you begin to feel more comfortable being yourself and expressing who you really were?

Julie Suen: It was definitely a progression.

That story of being different stayed with me for a long time.

I went to college and worked as a casino dealer to put myself through school. I rarely share that part of my story.

Because of that, I never felt like I fully fit in at work or at school.

Later, I went to law school, where I was one of the youngest students in the entire entering class. I was still carrying this sense of being different. I was dealing cards at a casino and spending time with people whose lives looked very different from those of many of my classmates.

As a result, I stayed very quiet throughout much of law school.

Then something interesting happened.

At the time, Texas Hold’em was becoming extremely popular, and one of my classmates hosted a poker night and invited everyone from law school.

I was the only woman playing.

After that night, people saw me differently.

Something shifted. They suddenly recognized a side of me they hadn’t seen before.

Eventually, I became a lawyer, and that was when it really hit me that I didn’t quite fit into that environment either.

The interesting thing is that I still practice law today, and I genuinely love what I do. The difference is that I’ve learned to create my own way of doing it—one that works for who I am rather than trying to force myself into a mold that never quite fits.

You mentioned that your true awakening began during your third year of practicing law. What was happening in your life at that time?

Julie Suen: I was practicing insurance law in Vancouver at a large firm, and although the work was successful and aligned in many ways, I felt like my soul was trying to wake me up.

A lot of law firms bill by the minute, so your entire day revolves around tracking how many minutes you spend on every task. At the end of the day, you add everything up, and there are annual quotas you’re expected to meet.

At the same time, the work I was doing involved quantifying things that, on a soul level, don’t feel quantifiable. If someone lost an eye, lost a limb, or lost their life, we were trying to assign a number to compensate them.

Something about that never sat well with me.

For the first time in my life, I decided to pray.

I remember saying very clearly, “Dear God, wake me up.”

And I’m not kidding—literally the next day, I was standing in line at Starbucks when a pamphlet caught my eye. It was sitting on a table, and for some reason, I felt compelled to pick it up.

The pamphlet said: “Run a marathon and fundraise for leukemia.”

Something inside me immediately said, You have to do this.

That same evening, I attended the nonprofit’s information session. The idea seemed completely wild to me. People run for hours? I couldn’t imagine it.

But I signed up.

Being part of that fundraising team connected me with people who were living with cancer and families who had lost loved ones to cancer. What struck me most was that leukemia and blood cancers affect so many children.

I remember meeting parents who had lost their children.

I remember meeting one little boy who came into the nonprofit office to speak with us.

And during the very same period that we were training and fundraising, he died from leukemia.

For the first time in my life, I truly understood that death happens to children, not as an abstract concept, but as a lived reality.

That experience changed me.

Not long after that, I moved to Hawaii. I started surfing, meditating, and exploring other spiritual practices.

What inspired the move to Hawaii?

Julie Suen: Interestingly, I was actually planning to move to Italy.

While I was there, I met a woman from Boston who wanted to celebrate her birthday in Hawaii. Nothing about Hawaii had particularly called to me. I only went because of her invitation.

But on my second day on the island, I was standing on the beach looking up at the stars, and something inside me said, This is home.

I’ve been there ever since.

How long have you lived there now?

Julie Suen: Fifteen years.

You still practice law today. What type of law do you practice?

Julie Suen: Trusts and estates.

So you’re helping families through your legal work, while also serving families in a very different way through New Earth Trust. How did that vision come about?

Julie Suen: It came through a download.

The message was very simple: Create a trust for New Earth.

At the same time, my son was becoming a major catalyst for that vision.

Because of my work, I spend a lot of time thinking about legacy. As trusts and estates lawyers, we help people organize and steward their financial legacy—how their assets will be passed on to future generations, most often their children.

When I received that download, my first question was:

What is your legacy?

What is your soul’s legacy?

For me, that’s what a trust has always represented.

A trust is a container. The trustee’s role is to steward whatever is inside that container for future generations.

When I think about my greatest legacy, of course, my son comes to mind. But it goes beyond him.

What kind of world am I leaving for him?

What kind of world am I leaving for his children?

What kind of world am I leaving for all of the children growing up alongside him?

Because if we truly want to raise joyful children, the children around them also need to have the opportunity to live in that same joy and truth.

If a child grows up surrounded by children who are disconnected from themselves, it becomes much harder for them to remain connected to their own authentic nature.

How old is your son now?

Julie Suen: He’s four.

You shared a wonderful story about his sense of humor the other day. Would you tell that story?

Julie Suen: Absolutely.

My son’s preschool has a fish tank with goldfish, and one day I asked him, “What are you going to name the goldfish?”

Without missing a beat, he said, “Just Fish.”

I replied, “You mean, like, fish?”

And he said, “No, Mom. Just Fish.”

That was his name.

That’s fantastic. Children have such wonderful humor. Bringing it back to New Earth Trust, what does this vision look like in practical terms? How are you helping create that legacy?

Julie Suen: It comes back to the concept of stewardship.

When we think about a trust, we think about what is being held inside the container and what we are responsible for stewarding.

And when I say we, I’m not just talking about myself. I’m talking about all of us—every awakened person who feels called to help shape the future.

What are we stewarding?

Consciousness.

At its core, New Earth Trust is about the stewardship of consciousness for New Earth.

The clearest path I see right now is through our children. We need a new way to educate and support them.

This brings us back to what we were talking about earlier. As children, many of us learned that fitting in was more important than being ourselves. That’s often where conditioning begins. It’s where we start hiding parts of who we are in order to belong.

But there is nothing inherently wrong with our consciousness.

The challenge is that many of us were taught to disconnect from our natural truth rather than learn how to nurture and express it.

This idea of honoring children’s voices seems to be at the heart of New Earth Trust. One of the first initiatives you created was the New Earth Children Roundtable. What was the vision behind that?

Julie Suen: It started with a simple question.

If children are the beneficiaries of our educational systems, why aren’t they the ones helping shape them?

So much of what we experience on this planet is built through top-down systems. Decisions are made for people rather than with them. Even when we are the intended beneficiaries, we often have very little say in how those systems operate.

My vision was to create a space where children could express what they wanted to see in education.

At first, my idea was pretty straightforward. I imagined gathering a group of children on Zoom, creating a roundtable discussion, and inviting them to share their wisdom about the future of learning.

Interestingly, this was around the time I met David at the Sedona Ascension Retreat.

At that event, I was talking with parents about this vision and hoping they might invite their children to participate. But as I spoke with families, something became immediately clear.

The children weren’t interested in showing up on Zoom at a scheduled time to sit and talk like adults.

What fascinated them was something entirely different.

They wanted to know about Hawaii.

That became the first seed of what eventually grew into the Star Children Retreat.

I realized that if I created an in-person retreat, we could gather in a way that naturally honored children. So often, consciousness communities focus on adults, while children become an afterthought. I wanted to create an intergenerational space where the children were the stars. We were there for them.

Within four weeks, with the support of aligned families, friends, and partners, the retreat came together.

Eleven children attended.

Some of them participated in a literal roundtable discussion where they shared and channeled their wisdom about the future of education. We filmed the conversations and broadcast them as part of an online event alongside other presenters.

That became the very first New Earth Children Roundtable.

It sounds both beautiful and a little messy. What was that experience like for you?

Julie Suen: David, you’re a parent.

Think about what it was like when your children were young.

That’s the game.

You’re figuring things out in real time, all day long.

In many ways, that’s the initiation children offer us as parents. They invite us to stay creative, adaptable, and present.

I honestly believe one of the greatest gifts children bring is helping us reawaken our own creativity.

That’s what play is.

Play isn’t completely structured. It’s alive. It’s spontaneous.

So yes, it was messy.

Of course it was.

My nervous system was definitely feeling it.

But that messiness is part of the magic.

What wisdom emerged from the children during those conversations? Were there any themes that stood out?

Julie Suen: There was so much wisdom.

One question we asked was, “If you could teach one thing in school, what would it be?”

One boy talked about nature—how it works, how to build a relationship with it, and how to honor it.

Another talked about resourcefulness.

Another talked about kindness and how to be a good human being.

There was so much more than I can remember off the top of my head, but what struck me most was how pure it all was.

Children don’t filter the way adults do.

They simply share what is alive and true for them in the moment.

For me, the greatest gift of a council like this isn’t only the wisdom itself. It’s also the model it creates.

Both children and adults get to witness that children’s voices matter.

That what comes out of their mouths is valuable.

That their perspectives deserve to be heard.

And perhaps most importantly, the children get to experience what it feels like when something is created specifically for them.

Not only for the children sitting at the table, but for all the children who might one day see it and realize that adults are listening.

Many of the families you work with seem to have children who don’t necessarily fit within traditional educational systems. How are you helping parents navigate that journey?

Julie Suen: I actually like to reframe that question.

I’m not the one doing it.

What I’m really doing is helping parents recognize that their children are the ones leading the way.

A few weeks ago, I attended the Body Mind Spirit Expo in Hawaii. It was a very last-minute decision. My guides strongly nudged me to be there after I received a download that I would eventually build a physical school in Hawaii.

At that point, I was simply following the breadcrumbs.

I signed up for a presentation and came up with the title at the last minute: Awaken to Your New Earth Mission.

Honestly, I had no idea what I was going to present.

I simply trusted that when I walked into the room and felt the energy, I would know what needed to be shared.

When I arrived, something unexpected happened.

Three children who would typically be labeled as autistic were in attendance.

Even saying those labels feels uncomfortable to me because I don’t believe children are meant to be reduced to categories.

What struck me was that nothing in the presentation description suggested it was intended for children. Yet there they were.

I wanted the session to be playful, so one of the activities involved channeling what I called our “soul sounds.” People could use movement, sound, or whatever expression felt natural.

Everyone was participating and having fun.

Then I noticed one of the children sitting in the front row.

I knew she was nonverbal, so I understood that she wouldn’t participate in the exercise the same way everyone else was.

I walked over to her.

She stood up.

I held her hands, gently squeezed her shoulders, and simply focused on helping her feel comfortable.

And then I felt something extraordinary.

Her energy amplified.

What I felt was pure heart energy.

Waves and waves of unconditional love.

It was incredibly beautiful.

How would you encourage parents whose children don’t seem to fit into conventional systems? What practical guidance would you offer them?

Julie Suen: Presence.

The most important thing is learning how to listen truly.

And when I say truly listen, I mean listening to the person who is actually in front of you—not the labels, not the expectations, not the stories attached to them.

That requires an incredible amount of presence.

In fact, this is one of the reasons I deliberately avoid labels, even labels that are commonly used in spiritual communities.

For example, I rarely use the term starseed when talking about children.

I want us to move as far away from labels as possible.

Even in my own awakening journey, I’ve encountered teachings that categorize people by the year they were born—Indigo, Crystal, Blu-ray, and so on. And I think that information can be fascinating. It gives our minds something to organize around, and labels can feel comforting because they help us make sense of things.

But my encouragement is simple:

Pay attention to your child.

Move beyond the labels.

Move beyond what other people are saying.

Become curious.

Ask your child questions.

And even if your child is nonverbal, understand that they are communicating all the time.

The question is not whether your child is capable of expressing themselves.

The question is whether we are capable of receiving and listening.

When I look at people from my own generation, I see how different we all are. If we reduce ourselves to a label, how limiting is that?

Every child is unique.

Every child deserves to be seen as an individual soul rather than a category.

Many of these children seem to possess a strong inner knowing. How can parents help cultivate that while the world is constantly trying to place them into boxes and predefined structures?

Julie Suen: Ask questions.

Ask lots of questions.

And when your child answers, listen.

Don’t immediately judge.

Don’t add your own commentary.

Don’t rush to correct or interpret.

Just listen.

Look for the wisdom inside what they’re saying.

That alone can be incredibly powerful.

Another thing I love is turning intuition into play.

My son and I play telepathy and intuition games all the time.

For example, when we’re stuck in traffic, I’ll tell him, “Okay, I have a color and a shape in my mind. What is it?”

As I’m saying this, I’m realizing it’s basically an evolved version of I Spy.

I’ll ask him to imagine he’s in a completely white room, or inside a dark cave, and then visualize the image I’m holding in my mind.

“What do you see?”

Those are the kinds of games we play.

Most importantly, though, we have to trust our own inner knowing.

As parents, we cannot teach something that we ourselves are not practicing.

Children learn far more from our embodiment than from our words.

Listening to you, I’m realizing that what you’re describing requires slowing down. Many parents are balancing careers, responsibilities, and endless demands. It feels difficult to create space for this kind of presence.

Julie Suen: What I’m hearing in that question is something many parents experience.

There’s this feeling that we have one life as a parent and another life as a professional. Maybe you’re a pastor, a lawyer, a business owner, or something else entirely.

And then the challenge becomes:

How do I fit all of these roles into one day?

How do I do everything without rushing?

My answer is to stop seeing them as separate.

Try to unify them.

When my son was only six months old, I began incorporating him into my law practice whenever possible.

I took him to client meetings.

I took client calls while he was in the car with me.

Rather than constantly trying to compartmentalize my life, I started looking for ways to weave the different parts together.

That shift changed everything.

Instead of feeling like I was being pulled between two worlds, I began seeing parenthood and purpose as parts of the same journey.

One thing I’m hearing throughout this conversation is that your approach to children is rooted in curiosity rather than control. Rather than trying to shape them into who we think they should be, you’re encouraging us to get to know who they already are.

Julie Suen: Yes.

And I would add something else to that.

What about allowing them to get to know the true you?

I think that’s important too.

That’s such an interesting perspective. Because ultimately, isn’t that how we want to experience all meaningful relationships? Not as something transactional, but as an exchange of presence where both people get to be fully themselves.

Julie Suen: Absolutely.

And that’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about including children in conscious communities and gatherings.

Why not?

Why shouldn’t they be part of these conversations?

Why shouldn’t they be included in the experiences that matter most to us?

As you’ve interacted with other parents, have they noticed differences in the way you relate to your son or the way you interact with children?

Julie Suen: They definitely notice.

Although I have to be mindful because I can’t always be fully myself with other people’s children, the way I am with my own.

With my son, though, I’m all in.

The reactions are mixed.

For example, just last week, my son was playing with a friend from daycare. After school, the other child pulled out an iPad and said, “Hey Easton, come check this out. Let’s play this game.”

Normally, I probably would have let it slide.

Even though I personally prefer no screen time, I might have thought, Well, we’re only here for a few minutes.

But that day, something in me said, No.

I wasn’t okay with it.

I immediately said, “No screen time,” and pulled my son away.

The other parent was a little surprised because there had been other occasions when I seemed more relaxed about it.

But in that moment, I knew where my boundary was.

There are other times when I notice things about children that their parents may not yet see.

Sometimes I’ll observe a gift emerging and share it with them.

I might say, “I think your son is communicating with birds.”

Not everyone knows what to do with comments like that.

I can’t say I’m always fully understood or accepted.

That’s actually one of the reasons it’s so important for me to create an online community where parents like me can gather.

I know those families exist.

Even if they’re not physically in my neighborhood right now, I know they’re out there.

And I feel strongly that this is a time for us to come together.

That brings us to Star Children Academy. Tell us about this new community you’re creating.

Julie Suen: This is really where my passion for Star Children Academy comes alive.

The first group is what I’m calling the Founders Cohort.

I’m intentionally limiting it to twelve families because I want it to feel intimate. I want everyone involved to share the intention to plant seeds for something much larger than ourselves.

At its heart, this is about creating a village.

Right now, it’s online, but every family needs a village.

We need spaces where we can show up authentically.

Places where parents can share their gifts, wisdom, experiences, and resources with one another.

And equally important, places where children can gather and simply be themselves.

Many children have gifts.

Many children have experiences they would describe as unusual, spiritual, or otherworldly.

Yet they often don’t feel comfortable talking about those experiences at school or on the playground.

Star Children Academy is intended to be a place where they can have those conversations safely.

What will that look like in practice? How can families become involved?

Julie Suen: It will likely include a variety of gatherings and experiences.

But I don’t want it to be a structure where I decide everything for everyone else.

I want it to be a circle.

The families who join as founders will help shape what this community becomes.

They’ll help determine what feels meaningful, supportive, and fun for the families involved.

Anyone interested can learn more through my website, Trust New Earth.

Applications are currently open, and the first cohort begins on June 28.

You’re also one of the contributing authors in our upcoming book, The Awakened Healer (to be released July 20, 2026). In your chapter, you’ll be sharing your Star Template Release and Activation Method. What is this modality, and how does it help people?

Julie Suen: One of the most important lessons I’ve learned as a parent is the importance of releasing stuck emotions.

I’ll be writing more about this in my chapter because it was such a significant part of my own journey.

When I first became a parent, I was exhausted all the time.

And I know many parents can relate to that experience.

What I eventually realized was that it wasn’t only physical exhaustion.

Being around my child was activating unresolved emotions, old patterns, and stored experiences within my own body.

The first part of this modality helps release those emotions in a simple, practical way.

In the book, I’ll share techniques that readers can begin practicing on their own.

The second part of the process involves what I call the Star Template.

A major aspect of my own awakening involved receiving awareness of what I call star maps—a deeper understanding of my cosmic journey and the experiences that shaped my soul before this lifetime.

For me, that journey forms a template.

It becomes a blueprint for who I am and what I’m here to express.

I believe that anyone with a cosmic lineage carries a similar template.

This part of the modality involves exploring that blueprint and allowing it to be integrated into the body so those gifts and qualities can become more fully activated.

And yes, it’s something that can be practiced with children as well.

You mentioned that this work can benefit children as well. How does that look in practice?

Julie Suen: For example, my own son has already learned how to release his emotions using this modality.

When children are younger, a parent can also serve as an avatar for them, if you will. The parent can participate in the process on the child’s behalf, and we can work through the parent-child connection.

In many cases, the emotional patterns can be released through the parent as well.

It sounds like this is a tool people could use regularly as they navigate everyday life.

Julie Suen: Exactly.

That’s one of the reasons I’m so excited to contribute to The Awakened Healer.

I want to share this simple method with as many people as possible because it’s something that can be used in everyday life, not just during major challenges or spiritual breakthroughs.

People can also work with you directly, correct?

Julie Suen: Yes, absolutely. Sessions can be booked through my website.

We’re also opening registration for our next Star Children Retreat, which is another intergenerational gathering.

The retreat will take place on the island of Kauai in Hawaii next March.

I’m intentionally opening a limited number of spaces to community leaders and adults who may not have biological children in this lifetime but feel called to participate in the circle.

The way I see it, we are all initiating one another.

The theme of this retreat is Rites of Passage, honoring the role every stage of life plays within a community.

The children are being initiated into their innate wisdom and leadership by the adults.

At the same time, the adults are being initiated into their inner cosmic child by the children.

That’s beautiful. And where can people learn more?

Julie Suen: Everything can be found through TrustNewEarth.com.

We’re also planning another online gathering this summer, which is an evolution of the New Earth Children Roundtable.

This year, I’m partnering with Portal to Ascension, and we’ll be hosting the Star Children Summit. One of the things I’m especially excited about is including nonverbal children as presenters. One of them was featured in The Telepathy Tapes.

They may not communicate verbally, but that does not mean they don’t have wisdom to share. I think it’s important that we expand our understanding of what communication can look like.

Information about the summit will be released soon.

Before we wrap up, what would you say to a parent listening today who is feeling overwhelmed? Maybe they resonate with what you’re saying, but they don’t feel like they’re doing it well enough yet. How would you encourage them?

Julie Suen: The first thing I would say is that we’re all in the same boat.

We’re never meant to arrive at some perfect destination.

This is a journey.

It’s a process.

And we need to stop being so hard on ourselves.

The very fact that you’re listening to this conversation tells me something important.

It tells me your soul has already reached a point where it remembers that you are awake.

This isn’t about becoming a perfect parent.

It isn’t about your child becoming a certain kind of child.

It’s about a relationship.

You and your child are constantly initiating one another.

You are growing together.

You are learning together.

And whenever I come back to the heart of all of this, I return to one simple thing:

Truly listen.

That is one of the greatest gifts we can offer a child.

Thank you so much, Julie. Before we go, I have to say that next time I see you, I want to try a persimmon. I don’t think I’ve ever had one.

Julie Suen: Really? Then we’ll have a persimmon-and-breakdancing party. But you’ll have to teach me how to breakdance.

Thank you, Julie, for sharing your story and for the work you’re doing in the world.

Julie Suen: Thank you.