Reflecting on 2021
centering Asian Americans in the national discourse on race, religion, & politics ****
2021 Reflections on Vulnerability & Community
Thank you for journeying with me through my writing, research, and healing this year. I started this newsletter with the lofty ambition to update it monthly, but that didn’t happen because...life/reality!
A lot of 2021 for me was about recovering from the heightened attention around anti-Asian violence earlier this year. My work consistently centers Asian American identity, politics, and history, but suddenly there was visibility and demand. And an imposed sense of urgency. I wrote my first op-ed in a major outlet and moved into more corporate DEI spaces with my consulting/teaching. It was new and exhausting for me to teach in public at such a fast pace while also grieving. March/April/May were probably some of the most chaotic and exhausting months of my life, and left me with a bit of a vulnerability hangover for the remainder of the year.
Me for most of 2021:
Despite all of that, the visibility and speaking engagements allowed me to connect with so many new people this year! Whether it was during a Q&A at one of my trainings, through this newsletter, or on social media, I find great joy in conversing with yall and building community. Our connections energize and ground me. Thank you for inviting me to your schools and workplaces, engaging with my work, asking challenging questions, and being open-hearted and generous with me.
Also me for most of 2021:
(I don't even like spongebob that much idk how he made it on here twice)
To close, here's MY 2021 IN LISTS
Favorite books I read:
The Vanishing Half - The character development was so good! I’m thrilled for the screen adaptation. I hope they do it well.
Ghosts in the Schoolyard - Eve Ewing is sociologist goals.
Crying in H-Mart - One of the best introduction chapters ever in my opinion!! So hungry. So much crying. Don't recommend reading this in public.
Severance - I know most people hated the ending but I loved it. Check out my theory on the ending on goodreads.
Favorite things I listened to:
Las Culturistas podcast - I follow Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers religiously. I don't even watch Housewives or Drag Race but somehow am captivated by their commentary on these shows. WHO CAN RELATE - RAISE YOUR HAND.
NYT The Daily - I enjoy waking up to Michael Barbaro's verbal signs of active listening ("hmmm!!!" "mmmhmmm") (iykyk).
Olivia Rodrigo - I want this young lady to have everything her heart desires.
All Too Well (10 minute version) - I lost my voice screaming to this on repeat while commuting (who hasn’t).
Favorite things I watched:
PEN15 series finale - Still crying about that last scene. I love this show so much. The way they were able to reflect my own inevitable grief from friendships changing by juxtaposing/expressing it through the innocence of Maya and Anna's friendship at that specific point in time.... *cries again*
Insecure series finale - So much to say. That bathroom scene. Molly + Issa 5eva.
Squid Game - So much already said about this. Episode 2 was my favorite. Such a visceral depiction of desperation.
Proudest Accomplishments:
I got added to a research team working on a new quantitative publication on race, religion, and mental health. I had no idea what was going on in our first meeting BUT DID NOT CRY, PANIC, OR RUN AWAY! I had major imposter syndrome with statistics last year so this is a win.
I'm 2/3rds through data collection on my thesis, examining how Chinese American evangelicals use religion to explain/respond to racial violence. I presented my preliminary findings at 2 academic conferences. More on this soon!
I started my book writing journey! I signed with an agent in May, wrote a book proposal in the summer/fall, and am in the process of finalizing a book deal with an editor + publisher I'm so excited to work with. *cries*
Things that kept me sane:
my friends
Headspace (almost) every morning
I slept a lot
CBD
my queen Robin Arzon yelling at me on peloton about achieving my dreams
Biggest surprises:
My spouse conned me into getting a second dog (Uni)
I like the second dog (most of the time):
Lastly, how I prepared for the apocalypse (this may sound like a joke but it's not):
I invested in LASIK surgery. When the zombies come, I won't have time to deal with contacts.
Started doing 5 min abs on the peloton app thrice/week because my queen Robin Arzon said we need a good core for everything
We invested in go-bags
xo,
Bianca