I want my child to learn Vietnamese, but I also want to protect him from the emotional bruises my parents dealt me. I want to pass on the language, but without passing on the trauma. I have to both learn and normalize a version of everyday Tiếng Việt that can communicate tenderness, love, and rich emotions.
Category: Think better
This is a summary of Marie Kondo’s bestselling book, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up, for those who want compelling reasons and guidance to declutter. Let’s start with why it’s important to tidy, then if those reasons compel you to declutter, you can find the how-to in the second half of this article.
Entitled really refers to privileges that are your inherent rights as a human being. You were born with inalienable rights, as in they can’t be taken from you by any means, ever. Somewhere along the way, you forgot your inalienable rights. This is especially true growing up with Viet parents and elders at home, then hiding your Viet identity to fit into mainstream culture outside the home.
Growing up in the United States, my Vietnamese history is ignored or misrepresented. The perspectives and stories of refugees – and of people of color in general – are not taught in school or documented in popular media. I want to break those stereotypes, encourage critical thinking, and spark constructive discussion through the FOBLOG.