Meet Emma

Happy Holidays to everyone this season! My chums and I have been very busy as the end of the year comes to a close. We've traveled worldwide to meet up with our families for the holidays. Once Christmas arrived, we planned on giving gifts to one another. We were all excited to give each other the gifts we all wanted.

Before meeting up for Christmas, my chums and I visited our respective families for the holidays. Stefan traveled back to Sweden to see his many family relatives. Henri was busy with holiday travel to Spain and France to meet extended families from both countries. Ken went back to Australia to see his close friends and family. I was fortunate enough to see my family in South Korea. It was a long flight there, but I was happy to see my parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, and friends.

Our travel was packed, as many people during this time of year take the plane, train, or drive to meet with loved ones. As a native of a home country, it feels refreshing to come back to a place you're familiar with. You're familiar with how people act and live, and you sometimes get homesick after living in a different country for so long. Once we came back from our family trips, however, the fun was just about to begin as we got ready to exchange gifts with one another.  

We decided to meet at Henri's house for Christmas dinner. He helped orchestrate a Christmas ham for us while we chipped in and made the sides. We made green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, rice, mac and cheese, brussels sprouts, and corn pudding. It was a delicious meal, especially with the help from all of us. Afterwards, it was time for presents!

Henri was the first to open his, and he was quite surprised with what he got. He received a new tennis shirt, maracas to shake and dance with, and a new cup to keep his boba tea in. Stefan enjoyed the gifts he received from us. It included a vinyl record from one of his favorite artists, Bon Jovi, new trekking poles since his old ones were worn down, and a pair of comfy sweatpants for the cold winter. Ken's gifts included a new surfboard, anew set of dumbbells, and a tank top to wear for the beach. He can't wait until summer to try out his new surfboard. Finally, I received gifts from my chums, and I enjoyed them all! I got a new pink hoodie, a new tennis racket, and tickets to the next BTS concert! All the gifts I got were thoughtful, and I'm glad my chums got them for me.

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Hey everyone! It’s Emma here, telling you a recent story that involved my chums and me. If you know me, you know I’m a super fan of K-pop. Bands like BTS and Black Pink are my favorite to listen to. However, I’m not the most vocal person in our group, and I like to be a little reserved. When I get put into situations I’m unsure about, I often experience nervousness and anxiety. That happened when my friends and I recently visited Tokki Karoke. Before I get into it, let me explain the backstory.

On a Friday night, all of us were bored as we had no plans. Itching for action, Henri suggested that we all go to Tokki Karaoke. That place has any song you can think of, including great food and drinks, and the atmosphere is lively. We all thought that was a good idea and decided to give it a try. I’ve never tried karaoke since the appeal of singing to others didn’t feel comfortable to me. But listening to my chums try and sing their favorite tunes, for good or worse, would be fun to see. On the way there, we all ran by ideas of what songs we would try and sing. Stefan wanted to try his hand at “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi, a true 80’s rock classic. Henri thought “Mambo No. 5” by Lou Bega would be fun to sing along with. Ken was intrigued to try “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver since he enjoys listening to country songs. I didn’t have a song in mind since I didn’t think I would find a song there. If there were any song I would sing, it would be my favorite K-Pop song, “Dynamite” by BTS.

We arrived at Tokki Karaoke later, and it was packed. I didn’t think karaoke was as popular as I thought! We sat at a table and got some food and drinks. We ate dinner earlier, so we ate snacky foods like pretzels, popcorn, and chips. I ordered a brown sugar boba there because that’s one of my favorites! All the karaoke setups were taken, so we waited for one to be available. While we waited, we talked about our upcoming tennis matches and the best way to win. We all have different styles, so we shared advice to help each other. After waiting awhile, a karaoke set up was available, so we went over to find some songs. I stood back while my chums looked for their songs. I was ready to cheer for them and tell them how good they were singing.

Stefan found his song and started it off with a big bang. He hit all the high notes and did an outstanding job! All of us cheered as Stefan sang all the lyrics. After he finished, Henri took a shot with his song. Henri performed well, although he wasn't as enthusiastic as Stefan. After the song, Henri admitted that he didn't enjoy the track as much as anticipated. We told him to try another song, but he wanted to wait until everybody went first. He didn’t mean that I was going to perform too, right?! Ken went after Henri and did a super job with his song. He messed up a few of the lyrics, but he had a lot of fun laughing as he finished all the lyrics. After Ken, everyone thought I could go next. I suggested returning to the table, but they thought I would do a great job. Me? Singing? I could try, but I wasn’t sure if I could find a song I liked. After scrolling through the many songs, I thought there wasn’t anything good for me. Until I found my favorite song, “Dynamite”!

I stepped up to the mic, nervous as all my chums watched me. I wasn’t sure if I could sing as well as they did. What if I messed up? What if they thought I had a bad voice? I had a lot of uneasy thoughts in my head. I struggled to get comfortable to start singing, but it wasn’t for long that Stefan, Henri, and Ken all came up with the other mics in their hand and started singing the song with me. At that moment, I felt much more comfortable, knowing that my chums had my back to sing my favorite song. As I took the lead, they sang the backup vocals. I got really into it! Dancing and singing, laughing as Ken and Stefan competed for louder backup vocals, and belting out at the top of my voice. I didn’t want the song to end! But it did, and we all had a great time singing together. We finished up our snacks and left to go back home. We were all exhausted after a fun night. I’m so happy to have a great group of friends like Stefan, Henri, and Ken. They helped me feel comfortable with my singing by giving me a hand with the vocals. It was a great night we’ll all remember for a long time!

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The most lovable little cottontail you’ll ever meet, I’m a chum who always sees the good in people and the positive side of things. You can’t help but be ‘hoppy’ when you’re in my presence. My bubbly personality is really what wins everyone over. Seriously, I’m just the sweetest! Cheerful, easy going and rarely grumpy, I find it easy to shake things off. And I don’t often hold a grudge. With a twinkle in my eye and a smile on my face, I dazzle people with my upbeat energy and optimistic attitude. I consider myself a girly girl but I’m certainly no damsel in distress. I’m an independent young woman who’s confident and sure of her worth but never in a way that comes off cocky or arrogant.

A shy but sly speedster with a mean power serve and an arsenal of trick shots up my sleeve, I rule the courts and clean up the competition like a champ. Sometimes impatient but always a good sport, I’m powered by an unceasing competitive drive. Inspired by Stefi Graf's strike-first style of play, my attacking playing style emulates the likes of Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu. A lover of racquet sports in general, I have no problem hopping in a game of badminton, paddleball, table tennis, squash or pickleball – I play them all! When I'm not shopping for trendy new duds, guzzling down brown sugar boba or munching on mochi donuts, I enjoy singing along to K-pop chart toppers while cruising streets in my convertible coupe roadster. (With the top down, of course.)

Bringing a little hip Asian flair to TokkiWorld, I’m just a bunny girl living in her own tennis-loving world. I like to bake cookies and make TikToks, I’m playful, I'm into anime and cosplay, I have a sweet tooth and I’m a proud member of the BTS army. Want in on my kawaii life here in TokkiLand? Follow all of my adventures and antics by following us on social media @TokkiTennis. My friends and I are always up to something cool. We can’t wait to share every bit of Tokki joy with you!