Clarity is a Gift 🎁

Rachel Nguyen joins our "25C" lineup

Rachel Nguyen joins our “Twenty-Five Calls” lineup / Photo illustration by Moy Zhong

blog.fifty-four // You may have picked up on this, but April was a slow month for us.

In between seasons (a term we use to encompass our new apparel collections, video episodes, and, of course, print zines) we made sure to take a step back. This was intentional—to evaluate how our previous rollout went, and recharge ahead of the next one.

Therefore, we’ve been a little quiet, but that doesn’t mean we’ve been resting on any laurels. Far from it: We’re currently building out our next season’s “skeleton,” which includes a slate of profiles and essays we can’t wait to share—as well as story submissions from you, our lovely readers.*

There’s a lot of new faces who have joined us this year, so during this in-between time…why not catch up on all five episodes from our previous season? We made a playlist for your optimal viewing pleasure—don’t be afraid to say hi in the comment section, too 🫡

Regarding today’s blog: We officially only have four more conversations from our “Twenty-Five Calls” project left to share. Hope you enjoy this one with Rachel Nguyen.

— NGL

P.S. Last blog, we wrote on our desire to craft a voice bigger than ourselves—and what makes a Creator Mag story a Creator Mag story. You can read it here.

Photo via Rachel Nguyen / YouTube

Rachel Nguyen is an art director and OG fashion blogger-turned-vlogger. After a lifetime in Southern California, Rachel dove into van life and hasn’t looked back—wandering wherever the road calls her next.

The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Moy Zhong: Hi Rachel! What was your biggest win from 2024?

Rachel Nguyen: Untethering my life.**

MZ: Gotcha. And what lessons are you bringing into 2025?

RN: Precision. Everything's precise. Everything is precisely, exactly how it's supposed to be. How it's designed to be. Your life, your experiences. Everything is meant to be exactly where it's meant to be.

Rachel shares a glimpse into van life / Instagram

And to lean into that sort of presence, and, like, stillness within yourself—it’s an ongoing life practice. Not only did I untether my life and learn how to have sovereignty in finding home anywhere and everywhere I go, [but] embodying comfort on such a deep level that nothing can really shake you…that also translates into being able to feel centered, and have clarity.

I mean, clarity is such a gift. And because I have really untethered myself from much of our, you know, modernity, I feel so much clarity in how nice it is. I think being around somebody who is very grounded and clear is a gift. And in my best days, I certainly feel like I’m trying to offer that to people, and I hope that I can sustain that and keep sharing that.

MZ: Anything else top of mind?

RN: [Laughs] I don't think so! I know I, like…I can certainly yap.

MZ: It's okay if there's nothing more. That's all in the theme of being precise, I think.

RN: Amen.

You can follow along with Rachel’s journey here.

Thanks for reading! Shoot us a reply, comment, or DM if anything resonated with you in particular—we respond to them all.

* Want to hold your writing in your hands? You still have ten days to submit a story to be featured in our next print edition! Fill out the form here.

** For context: This conversation with Rachel was part of a larger interview around why she’s taken a step back from posting online—in her words, “being untethered.”