In 2023, my dad needed emergency treatment. I remember looking at him lying in his hospital bed and worrying that I might lose him.
We have always been able to talk about anything. When I was little, he was the person I went to for pocket money. He let me buy all sorts of things that caught my eye, and bought me game consoles and toys. When I liked a girl, I told him about that too.
My dad is usually a quiet man. But he is a very good listener. He gave me advice that I appreciate much more now than I did at the time.
Seeing him in that bed, I was afraid of losing someone I had shared so much with.
There is an old Chinese saying about wanting to care for your parents when they are no longer here. After that hospital stay, those words felt much closer to home.
Thankfully, he recovered.
That same year, AI was developing quickly. I started wondering what I could use it to do for the two of us. I wanted to help him make a memoir, with photographs and audio, so he could look back on his life in his own words, from his own point of view.
I wanted a book I could open many, many years from now. If one day he is gone and I miss him, I would be able to read his stories and hear his voice again.
That wish is where HelloYears began.
For now, my dad is here. We still have the chance to talk. I want to make something of that time.
