Lunar New Year: Feeling Seen and the Power of Community

Growing up, Lunar New Year was always a time of joy, family, and tradition. But as an immigrant, I remember the first few Lunar New Years in the US feeling… different. It was just another regular workday. No celebrations, no recognition. It’s hard to even put into words what I felt—𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣. 🫥

That’s why yesterday’s AWE Network | Asian Women Empowerment Network 𝗟𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗿 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗸 & 𝗠𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗿 was so meaningful. A space where around 𝟯𝟬 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 came together to celebrate not just the holiday, but each other. We connected over amazing food (so many childhood favorites! 🍜🍲), shared stories, and—most importantly—𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚, 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚, 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨. 💪

Celebrating our culture isn’t just about tradition. It’s about 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙢𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙙. 👭🏻 When we come together, we affirm that our voices, experiences, and heritage matter. I was really touched when some of the attendees shared that they turned up because they want to 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙮. 🫶

On a personal note, I even recruited my 𝟭𝟭-𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗿 for the event! 💕 Watching her witness firsthand the importance of 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝘼𝙨𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 made my heart full. These are the moments that shape how the next generation sees themselves and the world around them. 🌏

Special thanks to Minta Lu, PhD and Ruth Khan who volunteered for the event. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us—your presence, energy, and stories made this gathering truly special. 💖Let’s continue to 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙪𝙥, 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧. 🎉

𝙏𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙟𝙤𝙮, 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩! 🙌🔥