2020-21

I think something that really impacted my identity as an Asian American was taking Intro to APIA studies. Before college, I was a boba liberal. [I had] no deeper knowledge on asian American history or American politics. I don't even know if I heard the term 'model minority' before taking that class. So I've definitely learned and grown a lot because of APIA studies and the major and the classes I've taken. The people I've met have also been really influential in helping me come to terms with my identity. I'm so grateful that I got the opportunity to learn about how our community intersects with so many other different communities, especially [other] marginalized communities, and that's made me realize how we need to help and use the privilege we do have as Asian Americans to speak up when needed. So taking that first class my freshman fall helped me grow a lot.

As the daughter of immigrant parents, public high school was a shock to me, and college even more. My parents instilled very traditional values in me, like keeping my head down, pursuing a higher education no matter what and always sticking to the rules. So meeting and interacting with a bunch of different people really changed my perspective on a lot of stuff, but in a good way. Now, I think I'm more chill and relaxed if things don't go perfectly to plan and I don't spend every second of every day studying. I've made a lot of great friends and memories here already, and getting involved in clubs like AASI have made me feel more connected with other Asians and more willing to stand up for what's right. So I think focusing on finding that balance between two cultures has been a large part of my identity.

In high school, I didn't know there was a whole community [of transnational adoptees]... I actually first joined the Facebook group "subtle asian adoptee traits" as a freshman but got scared and left it. I was scared of confronting that part of me and changing my preconceived notions about adoption because the stuff on that page wasn't entirely happy. It was a lot of things I did not think about when I thought about being adopted. It took me a year to be ready to learn more about adoption. That's when I took Professor Aguas' intro class and we had a unit on transnational adoption. When we started reading scholarly articles and watching documentaries, I think that's when I started to get more comfortable with really exploring my identity as a transnational adoptee. It was validating to learn that my feelings and experiences were a studied subject, and that other people felt the same confusion, loneliness, and grief that I did. APIA Studies really gave me a space to sit with my identity and further explore it. 

Seeing them [my parents] work so hard, it made me appreciate martial arts and what it can do for people. A lot of what we do is help people grow. A lot of people have commented on that specifically, like “Oh you show so much more respect [in your culture]” and that’s something I’m very proud of as an Asian American

Do I identify as Asian? Logistically, yes. Dut something's that always bothered me has been filling out paperwork when bi-racial or multiracial is not an option. When I was applying for colleges, one college asked me to check off my ethnicity and I could only choose one. And I was like, “Well, what do I do here? Am I more white or am I more Asian?" In experience, I'm more white but choosing white over Asian felt wrong. Not only did it feel morally wrong to choose to bury that side of me but also it simply was not correct. And I do identify as Asian but i don’t want to because I feel like I’m an imposter. But I also don’t identify with white people in many experiences I've had. I have been raised in a way where there was a dichotomy of worlds and I was the middle, I had to be cool with it. So I think normalizing biracialism as a concept so people aren’t confused by it is a good thing.

I was a little worried before coming to William and Mary because it was known as a predominantly white, male institution. I think the hesitation came from entering a space where I felt like I would have to hide a lot of my identity, which I didn't want to do. That's why finding FASA was so important to me— I'm so in touch with my Filipino identity, and I didn't want to try and hide my heritage. I needed a place that felt like home and a space that I could be myself and accept myself and others like me. And I'm so glad I found FASA as a shy little freshman and got to join a community of so many wonderful people who helped me grow and learn.