Dear First-Gen Hmong Girl
by Kia Lor, Associate Director of GIC Dear first-gen Hmong girl, You’re going to see all the other first-years moving in with their families, taking box after box into their dorm rooms, while your younger brother just dropped you off with the family Previa van that is so beaten-up it almost didn’t make the 2-hour commute, and now he has to make another 2-hour commute home on half a tank. It sucks; I know. But your journey to discovering your inner power has only just begun. You’re going to be the only dark-hair, peach-skinned girl in your English class. It’s okay. You. Are. Not. Like. Them. You’re going to be asked a million times, “Where are you from? No, where are you really from?” It’s okay. You. Are. Not. Like. Them. You’re going to be the only Hmong person in most of your classes and no one will know what Hmong means. It’s okay. You. Are. Not. Like. Them. You’re going to feel the pressure to fit in, to drop your Hmong skills and write your essays with bigger English vocabulary. It’s okay. You. Are. Not. Like. Them. You’re going to be the only Asian girl in your China study abroad group and people will incorrectly assume you’re the classes’ tour guide. It’s okay. You. Are. Not. Like. Them. You’re not here for the same reasons as the other students. You’re literally here to take your family out of poverty. This education is for you, your single-mom, your younger siblings, your aunts, uncles, grandparents, and your ancestors. It is a lot of pressure. You will want to cry. To give up. But remember, you have other Hmong sisters who LOVE you and are on the same journey as you. You have little Hmong girls who look up to you as an INSPIRATION. You have mothers, aunties, and grandmas who will BRAG about you because your success is their success. You have friends and community members who are so PROUD of you. Remember, you come from a people who started out with nothing. Be grateful for them and never forget where you came from. And remember, you are the FIRST but not the last. Remember to pay it forward. You will learn later on in your career in Higher Education that your ‘difference’ is your strength. This place was never made for you, yet you thrived like the rose that grew from concrete. This place called Higher Education is a better place because you’re here. Much love, Kia Lor, Associate Director of the GIC
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