AAPI Heritage Month: Celebrating Asian Identities
In the United States, May is officially known as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. During this month, we remember and celebrate all the contributions, hard work, and the importance of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans all around the world. For this year’s AAPI month, the Asian/Pacific American Student Union (otherwise known as APASU and co-led by seniors Ilana Nguyen and Maddy Manning-Bi) asked OHS students and APASU’s club sponsor (Mr. Satanapong) to write about how they connect with and identify as members of the AAPI community and how they celebrate their heritage.
How do you identify or connect with the AAPI community?
Sophie Panigrahi (’22): One of my favorite ways to connect to the AAPI community is through food. I love to try all kinds of dishes at new restaurants that are tied to the AAPI community that I love to be a part of.
Maddy Manning-Bi (’22): I am biracial––half Chinese and half Irish. I consider myself to be Asian American and to connect with the AAPI community, I have been studying the Chinese language and culture for the past four years while at OHS! I also try to celebrate various Chinese holidays and work to create platforms for Asian American youth, such as working at the literature magazine of the nonprofit organization Dear Asian Youth.
Kiko Cortez (’23): I am half Japanese! I consider myself biracial, but I am Asian American as I have lived in the United States my whole life.
Ryan Lin (’23): I connect with the AAPI community through more passive ways than some might expect. I think there’s beauty in listening to cultural music or even just giving a slight nod to cultural references. Consuming culturally-associated media, buying goods from local Asian communities, even interacting with people during my daily activities, all these small yet meaningful acts are extremely underrated in my opinion. If everyone took the time to make such efforts, the community would be even more amazing than it already is.
Amelia Zai (’23): I am of Chinese descent.
Alina Zhong (’23): Although I do not feel closely connected with my local AAPI community, it has been reassuring to have discussions about our experiences as first generation kids with other AAPI students at OHS.
Dylan Ly (’24): I feel kinda bad saying "I'm Asian" but I grew up in an Asian household and I'm pretty active in the community, especially through lion dance + martial arts.
Mr. Satanapong: My parents were born in Thailand and then immigrated to the United States in 1974. I was born in Southern California and growing up, I had an interesting relationship with my Asian identity. I grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood but most summers, I would visit my family in Thailand. So I always had a connection to my heritage but on a day-to-day basis, I was very much disconnected from my Thai-Chinese background. It wasn't until much later, when I was in college, that I really started to appreciate my AAPI heritage.
How has your heritage shaped who you are today?
Sophie Panigrahi (’22): Being half Indian and half Korean has shaped my identity in a lot of ways, most specifically in that I take pride in my heritage. I think that having pride in my heritage has helped me to take pride in many other aspects of my identity.
Maddy Manning-Bi (’22): My heritage is a big part of the person I am today! When I was younger, I was often ashamed of my race because I lived in the Deep South, a place where being biracial was not really accepted. Over time, I became more comfortable in my Asian American identity and began to embrace all the various facets of my culture. Now, I love learning more about AAPI communities and celebrating AAPI culture!
Kiko Cortez (’23): My heritage has shaped who I am today in the most wonderful ways. From my knowledge of Japanese, the culture, and even the food, I believe that my heritage has allowed me to have a broader understanding of the communities around me.
Ryan Lin (’23): My heritage has played a massive role in shaping who I am today. The vast majority of my moral values and general practices stem from some sort of lesson I was taught as a younger child. My heritage has served as a way to connect to more people. I’ve met a lot of great friends through celebrations and community events, and am extremely grateful for how strong the AAPI community is in my area.
Amelia Zai (’23): Both of my parents are immigrants; my mom comes from Hong Kong whereas my dad grew up in Europe as an Asian surrounded by a white crowd. Both of their experiences growing up in environments where they were either socially or not socially accepted shaped my perception of my heritage and environment. I have learned to be accepting of my background, as it is something that I cannot change and it is what makes me, me.
Alina Zhong (’23): I have complicated feelings about my heritage—at times, it has felt like an indecipherable responsibility to bear. Most of the time, however, I recognize that my heritage is that of a culture to be proud of. Importantly, it has turned me into an empathetic and open-minded person.
Dylan Ly (’24): My heritage has taught me how to be and how to live - learning how to treat other people and myself comes from this - and I think that, in part, it has shaped my beliefs as well.
Mr. Satanapong: So much of my parents' upbringing, which is heavily influenced by their Thai culture and tradition, is embedded in the person I am and the identities that I live with every day. I am proud to be Asian, Asian American, Southeast Asian, Thai, and Chinese.
How do you celebrate your cultural background and/or AAPI month? Do you have any specific traditions or rituals that are important to you?
Sophie Panigrahi (’22): I love to celebrate Korean New Year by having a special meal that my mom has made for my sisters and I since I was very little. The main dish is a rice cake soup, and it’s one of my favorite things to eat!
Maddy Manning-Bi (’22): To celebrate my cultural background, my mom loves to decorate our house with traditional Chinese decorations and cook loads of Chinese cuisine and desserts. Additionally, running APASU has become an incredible way for me to connect with the Asian American community at OHS and to celebrate with other students. I’m hoping that once I move onto college, I’ll be able to find an Asian American community/club that I can find a place in.
Kiko Cortez (’23): In addition to celebrating various Japanese celebrations throughout the year, my family celebrates our cultural background by sharing our culture with our friends and such! AAPI Month was not a month that I was aware of until a few years ago, so I don’t have any specific celebrations to share. Nonetheless, I am very delighted to know that there is a month celebrating this very beautifully diverse community!
Ryan Lin (’23): I celebrate my cultural background by participating in the traditions that have been built up by those before me. The emphasis on community and bringing people together is something I believe Asian cultures do a great job of. I especially love holidays where the entire family comes together for some big dinner. These types of events mean a lot to me, as I have the opportunity to see family members or friends that might otherwise be too busy to see me.
Amelia Zai (’23): To be honest, my family doesn't really celebrate any AAPI holidays. There seems to be a lack of culture in the small 95% caucasian town I live in. Perhaps growing up in an environment where I feel isolated suppresses not only me, but my family, in celebrating my culture. One thing I do love doing though is folding dumplings with my family. It serves as a bonding moment and makes me feel included in my culture.
Alina Zhong (’23): Though I have not celebrated AAPI month in the past, I plan on using this month as an opportunity to learn more about my culture and mother tongue, as well as a chance to connect with my family more.
Dylan Ly (’24): I do a lot of performances for the community, I like learning about my cultural background, and we have an annual family gathering for lunar new year where family from all over will come together to celebrate.
Mr. Satanapong: Honestly I don't think I celebrate my cultural background enough. Growing up we didn't really celebrate being Asian or being Thai. I think part of my upbringing was centered around this idea of building a better life in America and how to get ahead was by being more American. AAPIHM is a great reminder to celebrate where I come from as well as where other people come from.
What brings you joy about your heritage?
Sophie Panigrahi (’22): What brings me joy about my heritage is having so many incredible family members and ancestors to look up to. I think it’s very important to celebrate the accomplishments of AAPI individuals, and I feel lucky to do that every day.
Maddy Manning-Bi (’22): Everything! I think I especially appreciate how a love language of our culture is food and doing little things to care for one another. I love being able to speak in Chinese and understand others, it’s such a beautiful form of communication and I’m so happy that I have been able to learn it.
Kiko Cortez (’23): Everything! I would have to be lying if the food is not one of my main sources of joy in terms of my heritage…
Ryan Lin (’23): What brings me joy about my heritage is how rich its traditions are. The long-spanning history of Asian cultures means that there’s been plenty of time to establish various holidays and festivals. What is of even more interest to me is how each of these events have meaning associated with them. Pick any event and there’s bound to be a fun story you can read about.
Amelia Zai (’23): I find joy in knowing that there are also ABC kids out there, just like me, who face the same isolation and struggles I do. That is, I feel a sort of connection between all of us. I may not speak the language that my ancestors and relatives speak, but I do feel a sense of love and welcoming that I greatly enjoy.
Alina Zhong (’23): It is incredible to think about the centuries of history and traditions that have shaped my culture into what it is today.
Dylan Ly (’24): I love the rich history of my heritage, as well as the many traditions and beliefs. Also the food is amazing ^-^
Mr. Satanapong: I feel so fortunate to be part of the AAPI community. Something that brings me joy is when I see younger people from the AAPI community working hard to keep our communities together and supported.
What does it mean to support the AAPI community to you? Both as someone part of the community and also an ally?
Sophie Panigrahi (’22): To me, that means embracing all aspects of everyone’s culture even if it’s unfamiliar to me.
Maddy Manning-Bi (’22): To me, supporting the AAPI community means being able to inform and educate yourself, supporting those in the AAPI community by being there for them, and standing up for Asian Americans in the face of injustice.
Kiko Cortez (’23): Support comes in many forms. I believe that having the ability to make others feel comfortable to share their heritage and parts of their identities with is such a wonderful ability to have. It allows members of the AAPI community, and members of other marginalized groups, to feel accepted and celebrated. With this, I would say that the main thing is to be open-minded and willing to learn! Never forget that allyship is a life-long process. Open-mindedness and will to learn are both assets that are not limited to the AAPI community, nor limited to allies.
Ryan Lin (’23): To me, supporting the AAPI community means education. It means getting educated about the nuances of each culture in order to foster a more welcoming environment for all people. Inclusivity is the best way to support, as it makes people feel comfortable while also promoting individuality and adherence to culture/tradition.
Amelia Zai (’23): For me, supporting the AAPI community means raising awareness and educating those who don't know about our culture. I feel like, often times, western culture fails to teach students about East Asian culture. I grew up learning about George Washington and Alexander Graham Bell but always missing the history of my heritage. It instills in children that historical events, aside from European and Western ones, are trivial and don't deserve to be put into the curriculum. So, in short, I believe that being an ally or supporting the AAPI community means educating yourself and others on AAPI culture, in hopes of seeing that everyone's background is important.
Alina Zhong (’23): Being a supporter of the AAPI community means uplifting AAPI voices, researching the issues that the community face, and speaking out against racism.
Dylan Ly (’24): Supporting the AAPI community is ensuring the survival of human culture, which is incredibly important to me - every time I perform, I'm sharing that culture and art form, which I think is invaluable. Also, I think the AAPI community has been under a lot of pressure recently, and I'd like to help relieve that pressure.
Mr. Satanapong: Supporting the AAPI community starts with listening and then taking action where we can. I also think being able to talk more openly and freely about concerns or things we should be considering is very important. Some of us are conditioned to more or less put our heads down. While there might be certain instances where that is a solid option, we also need to recognize and take advantage of spaces where we can speak our truth and stand for what we believe in.