Karen Chuang Instagram – December 23, 2023 :: I spent the last three weeks with my parents in their homeland, and seeing where they came from always 1) reminds me of the stark improbability of our lives today and 2) fills me with a deep sense of gratitude. My parents came to the US from the Repbulic of China, also known as Taiwan, in 1984 for my dad to get his masters in computer science at UC Santa Barbara. My brother and I were born and raised in California, and growing up I feel like we juggled and sometimes struggled with two very different cultures. To value individuality or the group? To prioritize our interests or our education? Our parents managed to gracefully straddle these contrasting Eastern v. Western ideals as they raised us. To spend time with my parents in the place where they are from is to see what they sacrificed and how they struggled. How they broke through social and economic barriers in not one but two countries. How the things that may seem absolutely impossible in one generation is attainable in the next. 謝謝爸爸媽媽，真幸福有您給我的支持和愛心♥️ #asianamerican #asiandancer #immigrantparents