MY STORY

HOW MY LIFE EXPERIENCES INFORM MY WORK

ACCULTURATION

Growing up as the eldest child, I had to assume adult responsibilities at a young age. My family arrived to the USA with no education and no understanding of social norms. I became the language and cultural interpreter who helped my parents navigate government assistance programs, pay utilities and read report cards. I learned adaptive skills and have a deep understanding of survival and resiliency factors in multigenerational family systems.

IDENTITY

Growing up in two different cultures often meant that I experienced the tension of feeling not good enough within my community or the dominant community. I grew up in a small town and experienced messages of being different from my classmates. I struggled with self-esteem and self-worth. I felt constant emotional fatigue with internal and external pressures to conform to social and cultural standards. I learned to explore and challenge the oppressive frameworks that invalidated so many facets of my identity.

CULTURE

Growing up as a refugee, intergenerational trauma and cultural expectations from my family felt like a heavy backpack. I struggled to understand my parents' survival lens because I could not connect with their trauma experiences. I learned to reconnect with my cultural roots to embody and reclaim ancestral wisdom that could be adapted into my current narrative as a first-generation Hmong woman.

GENDER

Growing up in a male dominated culture, I learned from an early age that my gender was expected to sacrifice for others under the label of caregiving. I watched other women in my family and community normalize patriarchal practices that seemed to disempower and hurt them. I learned to ask questions and challenge the fine line between tradition and oppression in order to interrupt abuse and violence.