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• I harp again about my childhood identity struggle, how difficult it was for me not knowing Korean growing up, how I have a psychological complex about it and how I deal with it as an adult.
• The importance of family and motherhood and the challenges of keeping and promoting our native culture, language, and heritage to children.
• I for sure never want my future children or any Asian child or anybody for that matter to go through what I went through, because it really sucked HARD.
• The important benefits of us as free individuals to reconcile with the collective through our family, our communities, our societies.
• I choose to reconcile and forgive past grievances (real or imagined) against my parents, my family, against Korean people, for my own sake as well as for the sake of the whole.
• Individualism vs collectivism is a false dichotomy. One cannot exist without the other. I as a free individual choose to reconcile with my mother for my own benefit, as well as the benefit of reconciling with the Korean people as a whole.
• I’m humbled and proud to be Korean, to be American, and I’m only alive today — we are only alive today because of our mothers, and mothers are sacred.
• Unlike the older generation, we’re in a better position to educate ourselves on psychology, self-awareness, and proper parenting. They may have not known how to communicate to us without yelling or negative energy. They may never have admitted their mistakes. But we’re privileged enough thanks to their sacrifices, to be and do better. We can apologize to our children, we can admit mistakes or when we did something wrong. In that vulnerability, honesty, and communication is true power.

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