Growing up, I was part of a transitioning generation; while my parents and my sisters spoke a fluent mix of both Hmong and English, I was taught only English and remained mostly blind to aspects of Hmong culture. I also attended a mostly white suburban school while the rest of my family had gone to mixed, inner-city public schools. They did all this with good intentions; they wanted me to focus on my studies without the language barrier they experienced. However, I became uneducated about my culture. I felt like I was standing on a tightrope, balancing between being ‘American’ and being ‘Hmong’, as if I had to choose between the two. I even felt a little ashamed that I couldn’t look more like my white peers. I became irritated when my family
