02/19/2026
Grateful for this space last week & ✨
Not just because I got to connect with other Latine therapists in SD, but because it felt like part of me could exhale, like part of me was home.
A vulnerable share:
As a mixed race AsianLatine person, I’ve never fully felt like I belonged in either space. Growing up, I felt like a chronic outsider. A fraud (maybe that’s why I’m so big on inclusivity now?).
My grandparents didn’t pass Spanish down to protect us from discrimination. And they weren’t wrong- it’s 2025 and look at how the dominant culture still reacts to cultural visibility (thank you we love you).
But that protection came at a cost, it estranged me from part of myself, my culture & left a void.
Moving to SoCal in my early 20s changed things. I was finally surrounded by other mixed folks. I explored my Southeast Asian roots, visited Indonesia, learned my maternal grandparents’ stories. But lately, I’ve felt an ache to deepen my connection to my Latine roots too.
Especially now, I have a mixed Latine child. My partner’s first language is Spanish. And I just lost my paternal grandmother, Silvia. She was a Mexican immigrant with no papers who risked everything to build a life here. Life was brutal to her, alcohol helped her cope but it also destroyed her. She cut off contact with all of us years ago and we found out she died a couple of weeks ago- and I’ll never know her stories now. But something in my bones feels so outraged on her behalf, likely intensified by the escalation of 🧊 raids.
It’s a strange grief, feels like another door closing on my cultural identity.
But I know that’s what white supremacy wants- disconnection, erasure.
So instead, I’m taking Spanish classes, I’m pushing past racial imposter syndrome, I’m reclaiming what was interrupted.
Connecting with other Latine therapists reminded me: I’m not an imposter. I belong to this heritage & I am enough. Colonization just wants me to believe otherwise.
If you made it this far, thank you for seeing me. ❤️🩹
May this be your reminder to reclaim the parts of yourself you were taught to shrink, disguise or disconnect from. ✨
Xoxoxo