These stories never fail to inspire me.

I'm a baker of stories.

People write to me with their stories, and I do my best to express them through specially-designed, custom-made cakes and desserts. Whether it is a birthday, a wedding, a marriage proposal, or just simply a cake to show gratitude, I conceptualise each cake based on every detail that is written in the story, to try and bring each story to life.

Most of the stories are about love - a mother's love, a romantic love brimming full of respect, patience, kindness and devotion, or a shared love between friends who have known each other for many many years. Sometimes, the stories are about overcoming hurt, disappointment, and many other obstacles and challenges in life. With every email I read, my heart is warmed by the sincerity and honesty in these stories, the rawness that touches on and reminds me of the human condition, and the joy that others feel when they recall these stories themselves. It is almost as if I can feel their happiness, or sadness, through the very words they have written to me.

And these stories never fail to inspire me. These are real stories, real people, real events... the happiness and pride they feel, or the acts of sacrificial love they commit, remind me every day of who I want to be, and why I do what I do.

Creating and conceptualising a brand new cake based on every story is never easy. Sometimes things work out; sometimes they don't. It's a lot of hard work, but when the going gets tough, these stories (these people) are what keeps me going.

In turn, I share these stories with others, to inspire them in the same ways these stories have with me, and as a reminder to us all to always remind kind and humble. At times, I share a little of my own story too - the struggles I go through, the failures I meet with, or the little successes I am proud of everyday - and often, I am blessed with kind words and encouragement from strangers whom I've yet to meet.

It is this very community that brings out the best of me, and perhaps of many others too. There is love and kindness underscoring many things we do, and it is my role to bring these heartwarming stories to life and to share them with others, in the hopes of touching their lives. It is ever so easy to be swept away by the superficial demands and wants in life, but these stories... they keep us grounded, help us see and appreciate the little things in life, and give us a reason and purpose to live for.