Mackenzie shared some of her family history with her school today, in celebration of the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) half of her heritage.
The black-and-white photo is my father and his parents, taken at the Taipei airport on August 12, 1970, right before he left for the States to get his PhD at Indiana University, Bloomington. It’s strange to think about what must have been going through their minds in that moment. They weren’t a well-off family, and if my father hadn’t received a scholarship from IU, he never would have immigrated to the U.S.
It’s so hard to achieve what you can’t even fathom, especially when the risk is so high. If his family hadn’t taken that chance, I wouldn’t be here. Kenzie wouldn’t be here.
The color photo is of my maternal grandparents—Mackenzie’s great-grandparents—taken somewhere in Hong Kong, though I’m not sure when. They were a much wealthier family, I remember they owned a photography store in Kowloon. My mom and dad met at IU, and got married in 1974.
The qipao Mackenzie wore was a gift from one of my former students, and I know it will be a family heirloom. It’s exquisite: beautiful green silk with lace trim and delicate jade buttons.
The contrast between the luxuriousness of that gifted qipao and the scrappiness of my dad’s start in the U.S. represents so much. ❤️
