“My AAPI identity means understanding and recognizing the contributions and influence of Asian American cultures, traditions, and values.”

“It means that I come from a country that has a long history of flavor, humanity, and love. I am very proud to be an Indian.”

“I am proud to say that I am Cambodian. Of the many years being in school and living in this world, I realize that not many have even heard of the culture that I am so fond of. I feel that being born into this family and in this area i have the right to help and educate my friends and associates of everything beautiful of my ethnic race. ”

“It means that I might be different from others and sometimes there’s discrimination because of that, but nevertheless my identity is something that I am proud of.”

“Being Asian American, I felt a lot of disconnection from my cultural heritage growing up here. I grew farther apart from my language and can barely speak it now and it makes me really sad that I won’t ever have the same kind of culture that my parents grew up with in Vietnam. I feel very proud of being Vietnamese, I’m happy I have at least some cultural tradition to celebrate during our holidays and the delicious food that comes along with it. ”

“Being an Asian-American today has taught me more than just being one culture or ethnicity. I have learned to embrace both the culture of India and the U.S and how both are monumental in creating who I am today. ”

“As a child, I wanted to erase away my skin color and watch it rub away. Bringing my cultural food to school had become a safety hazard. However, as I grew up, I realized that we’re all different in our own way. I’ve since then started embracing my AAPI identity and my culture, as my experiences are unique to me.”

“As a Teochew Cambodian American, my pride and identity comes from being AAPI. Being a minority group comes with it’s own set of challenges. My parents survived the Khmer Rouge genocide and came to America for something greater for their children. But they passed onto me intergenerational trauma that will affect me my entire life. Knowing I am a part of a prideful AAPI community who understands my experiences, makes me feel stronger and that we can get through this together.”

“Being AAPI means resilience, strengths and healing. We overcome so many obstacles just to be at the same plate as others.”

“I grew up with every opportunity to delve deeper into my ethnicity and learn about it, but when I was younger I didn’t appreciate it and spent more time trying to be something I was not. Now that I’m older and I recognize the importance of my AAPI background, I hold my identity close to my heart. It’s been a love hate relationship with myself and who I am, but I needed to step up and embrace what I have, because it’s brought me this far in life and I wouldn’t be me without it. My AAPI identity is my life and a culmination of my ancestors’ legacies that I will never push aside again.”

“My AAPI identity intersects with how I interact with the world, whether that’s with my relationship to family/relatives, how I choose to present myself to others, as well as understanding the privileges/disadvantages that I hold based on my race/ethnicity.”