Wishing you a happy AAPI Heritage Month!
Over the next few weeks, we’re excited to celebrate by sharing frank, wonderful conversations that we’ve had with Curious Explorers of AAPI background.
We loved getting to hear people’s honest, heartfelt stories about navigating different cultures, and the journeys they’ve taken to arrive at who they are today. Can’t wait to show you 💛
To kick off this very first week, we’d love to tell you a little more about us and our own personal backgrounds:
The two of us met over ten years ago (we can’t believe how long it’s been!) through our dear friend Jiah at an art gallery in downtown NYC. After crossing paths once more at a remarkably eventful video shoot, we became fast friends. Over the years, we’ve been lucky to bond fiercely over our shared love of arts and culture, as well as many moments of delightful silliness!
Cat says:
I’m a 1.5-generation Asian American originally from Taiwan. Being 1.5G has been quite a trip and has offered me a unique perspective on the world. I came to the U.S. at the age of 10 and spent my formative years here. Yet I still have strong ties to my homeland and a good command of Mandarin Chinese. In my younger years, I used to feel like I didn’t belong anywhere and struggled with my identity big time. These days, though, I prefer to think of my experience as a sort of superpower that gives me the ability to traverse two very distinct cultures with ease and fluidity.
Bon says:
I’m a second-generation Fuzhounese-American, who today, can proudly call myself a “takeout kid” — the daughter of parents who ran Chinese takeouts in New Jersey for a living. But I wasn’t always so comfortable with my identity. As a kid, I felt different from my classmates, who seemed to lead enviably normal, American lives, while my little brother and I hung out in the often-quirky world of our family’s restaurant. Looking back though, I love and cherish every moment of that strange but wholly unique childhood that has shaped me into who I am today.
Our Work Together
Today, through Little Fires Co., both of us are exploring not only our own heritage, but the remarkable universality of dreams, desires and emotions in sayings around the world — while celebrating the uniqueness of culture enshrined in every language.
AAPI Month is now a beautiful moment during the year that reminds us of where we began, and how far we’ve all come — and how amazing it is to exist in the space we are today, in a world that feels just a little more open, a little more loving.
Thank you all, as always, for following, supporting and encouraging us. We wouldn’t be here without your friendship and faith in us. We are grateful to be here, and grateful for you ❤️
