On making friends and finding community in college

"I can definitely say that I am able to find community here. And I think being Asian American wasn't really a factor I considered all too hard with it. Because like, freshman year, the community you build is just the people who live close to you. I mean, that's kind of the point of orientation. And there were a lot of Asian Americans in my hall, but like, none of them lived close to me, and none of them were really women. So yeah, freshman year, a lot of the friends that I made were simply friends by proximity, and I really appreciate those people. But your freshman year friends aren't really your friends, you know, like that tends to be the trend. So, yeah, sophomore year, I think is when I truly met my community, and like, I truly love the friends that I made in sophomore year. But again, my racial identity or ethnic identity wasn't really a big factor in that. I still ended up with a decent amount of Asian friends, just by accident, I guess. But I don't know. I think, because I grew up in Charlottesville, there were maybe like four Asian people total. So really, it wasn't really something I like, grew up learning to look for. Like my Asian community was always just my family members, you know? And if I made friends who happened to be Asian, all the better. But it wasn't like the first thing that I considered, so which is also how I ended up with a bunch of white friends."

"But yeah, I wasn't really trying to come here being like, 'I'm gonna look for an Asian American community,' you know? I find that when you try specifically to look for a community centered around race, it becomes very superficial. Like when you go in looking for a community based around a certain thing, like purposefully, some of it feels really forced, at least in my experience. It could be very different for other people. But for me, it really has to be a lot more organic than that."

On interests being an extension of their identity, building community through interests

"I feel like a lot of my community has centered around queerness rather than race. I think because there's just more queer people here in general, especially like queer women. But yeah, I have been able to find a community. Most of it is queer. Most of it, I found in archery also. So yeah, community centered around my interests rather than my racial identity."

"It works for some people, but you don't have to try to find a community only within your identity. Like, having people who are of your identity around you makes life more comfortable. It makes you feel safer. But that safety has to develop elsewhere. Like just because you're Asian doesn't mean I feel safe around you, right? Like, I might feel safe talking about being Asian, but I'm more than just Asian and a lesbian."

"I think for me, I view my interests as an extent, like part of my identity. So I think every sort of relationship I make is based on my identity in some way. Obviously, there's certain parts of my identity that are visible, like obviously I'm Chinese, American, but at the same time, I wouldn't be who I am without my interests. And so that's why I do view those as my identity."

On identifying as "Chinese American" rather than "Asian American"

"I know my political identity has changed a lot since I got here as a freshman, and I think I feel a lot more Chinese American now than I do Asian American compared to back then. And I think part of that is because I'm away from my family so much, like it's so easy to just be Chinese American when you're surrounded by that constantly. And then your Asian American identity is something you have to consciously foster, in a way, because being Asian American is such a bigger, like outside community compared to just you being Chinese because you're at home. But here I found that I'm also exposed to a lot more Asian people here, not like East Asian, but like all across Asian people. So, it feels a bit more strange to identify as—like, I obviously still identify as Asian American—but it feels less correct than identifying as Chinese American."

On how their political identity has changed in college, as an Asian American

"Politically, I've changed even so much in the past year. Because, like, to be Asian American is to be political. But at the same time, our community has this big, complicated history with political activism. But I don't know, and I think so much of it has changed with the Palestine movement as well. So like, being in a space where I could be politically active, not at home and with a driver's license has definitely affected my political identity."

"I think coming to William Mary and being exposed to a lot more people, a lot more, specifically, Asian people [has also shaped my political identity formation]. I think, just meeting other Asian Americans, like some don't identify as Asian Americans, but meeting other BIPOC people who are more politically engaged because a lot of the issues they face are directly. Especially with Palestine, directly influencing their friends and family, and thus they have to be politically engaged. So, knowing more of those people, knowing about their feelings, caring about them as people, because they're my friends, is what has sort of like kickstarted everything." 

"I wouldn't say I moved further left, because I think my ideology has stayed mostly the same, but in terms of what I consider activism and my own part in that, has changed. And it's bounced back and forth a lot, especially with the election. Like, my own role in this, or Asian Americans' role in this, for sure. It was just I cared about my friends, and my friends cared about this, so I went with them. And I honestly think that's how people should approach activism."