The Moment That Broke Me Built My Fear, My Focus, and My Fire
16 Jul 2026 · 1 min
0:56
Joy Kong, MD recalls being beaten by her mother at six or seven for refusing to admit she was wrong. She kept shouting
Joy Kong, MD recalls being beaten by her mother at six or seven for refusing to admit she was wrong. She kept shouting
Looking back now, how much of your destiny was born in the moments that could have broken you? My mom certainly tried to break it. She was very judgmental and wanted things done her way. I was a very stubborn kid. I wanted things done my way. I think I was probably 6, 7 years old, and when they were hitting me, because one person's not enough, and then she will be basically asking me to submit. She said, "Say you're wrong." I didn't like how she was approaching everything, and I certainly didn't like obedience, being beat out of me. So I just said, "Not wrong," and they would just keep hitting me, and I'll just keep screaming, "Not wrong," until I— because at that time I already made up my mind, I'd rather die than giving in. So then they just had to stop. So that was kind of the, the, you know, one of the earliest memories of me standing my ground. I was willing to die for her principle. If I'm not afraid of death, then what am I afraid of?
