To Escape My Life, I Got Addicted
Names have been changed. By the time I was 14 years old, I was taking care of my mentally ill mother, alcoholic father, and my younger sister. I worked as a busboy in a pizza place so there would be something for my family to eat. My mom’s hallucinations were scary; sometimes she destroyed stuff […]
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Learning About Feminism in the U.S.
In Japan, most mothers stay home with their children. I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about this—I assumed I would be a mom who stayed home with her kids too. But after I moved to New York City from Tokyo, I noticed that most moms work. So while my mom took me to […]
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From Begrudging Family Translator to Literacy Volunteer
“我不要 (wǒ bù yào; I don’t want to)!” I cried, twisting my arms and kicking my legs to release myself from Nai Nai’s firm grip as she pulled me over to the man sitting in the subway ticket booth. My 9-year-old self started jumping and screaming. I was yelling in Mandarin, the only language my […]
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I Started My Own Charity
The burning Dhaka summer sun reflected off the rearview mirror of my parents’ Toyota as I sat in the backseat with my sister. It was a typical afternoon, 100 degrees, and I could feel the sweat on my skin. I was 5 years old. The smell of gasoline attacked my nostrils as we remained stuck […]
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