When I was six years old, I asked my mom if she could get me new pair of Barbie sneakers. She said she couldn’t, and I had to take care of the pair that I currently have. My parents got paid minimum wage raising seven kids in America, a country they knew nothing about. I was sad, but I also understood. I grabbed my worn sneakers, a bucket of soapy water, and a brush and headed to the back porch. Under the hot sun, I scrubbed my sneakers with tears streaming down my face and promised to always go after what I wanted because no one would give it to me.

MY PURPOSE

IT MATTERS

The "how" was the part I had to figure out. I had no one that looked like me to show me the way. In the Hmong culture, women have no power to make decisions and are not allowed to use their voices. Girls are raised to take care of their future husbands and their families. There was no path to follow.

Here’s what I did...

I took lessons, advice, and tips I’ve learned from teachers, mentors, coaches, books, and random people I found on the internet. I put them together like a jigsaw puzzle to get to where I wanted to go. It looks messy, some pieces look out of place, and there are still some missing pieces. The process is not perfect, but it’s doing what it needs to do: create the person I want to become to build the life I want.

My purpose is to help show other women who look like me or are in a similar situation that it’s possible. We can be the author of our life stories. It doesn’t need to be cosigned by our parents, community, or culture.