“Chasing My Dreams“

Elizabeth Rasmussen

Thai | Saint Paul, MN | she/her/hers | Student

Growing up, I attended mainstream schools with the Deaf & Hard of Hearing programs in the Twin Cities. I took speech therapy during and after school to learn how to speak. I hated it because I thought it was boring, but now I feel grateful that I did it because I am able to speak. My mom and a few family members even learned sign language to communicate with me after meningitis took my hearing.

Everything seemed normal. Then the elections happened and changed everything for me on November 8, 2016. That election felt like this major moment when my perspectives of race in America came crashing down on me. I saw how race shaped America and everything happening around me.

You see, I grew up in a white American family in Eagan, Minnesota where I mostly socialized with white folks. There’s little to no cultural diversity in Eagan. Then, I began hearing the term Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). That term made me feel like I belonged somewhere, and it got me to embrace my roots. I began learning more about the cultures of Southeast Asia. I hadn’t seen much diversity until I began high school in St. Paul, where there was so much diversity. I, then, became friends with many other Asian students, most of whom were Hmong, Black, Latino and Mexican, and Arab.

A few good friends who are either multicultural or adoptees themselves shared their experiences with me, and I related to so much of their experiences. It woke me up, and I recognized I had been deprived of cultural identity for so many years. That knowledge sent me spiraling, and I started having flashbacks. I had been struggling to find peers or groups I could be authentic around, and often felt that I had to code switch between my many complex identities – being partially deaf, being adopted, and being Asian.

I started to unmask and peel open my Asian identity. I explored South East Asian culture, and found new communities and more resources. I pushed myself to find spaces where I belong, and could feel safe and empowered.

It’s in these communities that I know I can pursue my dreams. I don’t see myself as a disabled person, or someone needing an interpreter all the time. Now I see an independent person chasing her dreams.

#MinneAsianStories Series