Describe a photograph that you like.

There’s one photograph that I’m particularly fond of, and I actually keep it as the wallpaper on my laptop. It’s a candid shot of my family sitting around the dining table at my grandparents’ house, right in the middle of a noisy, cheerful dinner. In the picture, my dad’s laughing with his head thrown back, my mum’s trying to pass a bowl of soup across the table, and my little cousin’s pulling a ridiculous face at the camera. In the background, you can see the old wooden clock on the wall and a tiny slice of the garden through the window.

The photo was taken by my older sister, who’s kind of the unofficial family photographer. She’s not a professional, but she has a real eye for capturing genuine expressions instead of stiff, posed smiles. She just grabbed her phone at the perfect moment and snapped it without telling anyone, so it looks incredibly natural.

It was taken about three years ago, during our Lunar New Year celebration. We were all finally together after a really hectic year when everyone had been scattered in different cities for work and study. That dinner felt special because it was the first time in ages that we’d all been under the same roof with no one rushing off or checking work emails.

I like this photograph so much because it freezes that exact feeling of warmth and togetherness. Whenever I look at it, I can almost hear the clinking of chopsticks and the burst of laughter. It reminds me not to take these ordinary moments for granted. In a way, it’s a visual reminder of what really matters to me: family, connection, and simple, shared happiness.