Date: August 1st, 2026 1:12 PM
Author: Jade bisexual place of business stag film
Steve Marsh: Way before you won Tammy Baldwin’s old seat in the Assembly, and before you were a chef, you were a type-A captain of the soccer team at West Madison High. But I’ve read you didn’t know who you really were until you started working in a restaurant. Why?
Francesca Hong: At 18, I had a mental breakdown. I didn't actually walk at my high school graduation because I had been hospitalized for a week at a child psychiatric hospital. I just felt like nothing had meaning anymore. It was a numbness that took over, and a pain that I couldn't describe. I couldn't feel anymore, and that scared the hell out of me. And I found myself self-harming to feel something.
Marsh: Were you cutting yourself?
Hong: It was cutting. I was diagnosed with bipolar disease. I was taking SSRIs and I'd overdosed on lithium. I didn't know why I couldn't connect with people deeper, and that pushes you into isolation. But in restaurants, I didn't feel that. You see the best and worst of people here. It’s like, everyone wants to feel like they belong. I think a lot of the root causes were in being an immigrant's daughter, and wondering if my sacrifices would ever really justify my parents leaving their homeland to create a new life for me. And I think the people who come into restaurants come from so many different backgrounds and life experiences, and the best restaurant teams take care of one another so that you don't have to think about if you belong here or not.
https://www.meal-magazine.com/meal-digital/hong
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5888207&forum_id=2…id#50039075)