Born in Saigon, Vietnam, my earliest experience in the United States was one of complex translation. As a "fresh off the boat" first-generation immigrant, I was quickly bullied for being a socially awkward dork with an accent. I learned that to survive, I needed to blend, but by fifth grade, a deeper truth was already emerging. I remember wishing something magical could make me a girl, finding secret solace trying on my mother’s and sister’s clothes. Shame quickly took root; already struggling to fit in as a neurodivergent Asian migrant, I suppressed this fundamental truth for the next thirty years.

In its place, I developed an inauthentic persona - a successful character designed to meet American social expectations. But the urge to be my real self, the woman I knew I was, kept rearing its head. It wasn’t until a year and a half into the pandemic, when life as I knew it felt forever altered, that I realized whatever was keeping me from living on my own terms no longer mattered. In January 2022, I started HRT and began medically transitioning, publicly coming out six months later. Though acceptance from friends and family was largely positive, the early years were difficult, marked by misgendering and transphobic encounters. This experience of vulnerability fueled an obligation: I now use my privilege to share my journey via video and advocate for the trans community, realizing this hard-won life could be taken away at any moment.
 

The person I am today is fundamentally shaped by these intersecting minorities. My core identity is that of a neurodivergent pansexual trans femme non-binary person of color. This compounded reality - being a first-generation Vietnamese immigrant woman who also navigates the high-volume reality of AuDHD - has forged an unwavering, protective strength.