finding home between two worlds

This post features an interview with Maya Hernandez who shares her experience being Mexican-American and Japanese-American.

about Maya

Maya is a research scientist who studies youth well-being and mental health in the context of the digital age. This includes understanding civic engagement and identity formation in this era of social media. She was born in Tokyo in the Yokota Air Force Base. Her father was in the military and she is half Japanese, half Mexican-American.

Being first generation on her mother's side and second generation on her father's side, she grew up in a very multi-cultural home. She was also able to experience many different environments as she lived in multiple cities due to her father's job. She currently lives in Southern California.

the journey here

Maya's father and his family immigrated here from Mexico around the 1960s hoping to find better opportunities in America. Such opportunities included economic opportunities and opportunities in general for the family. Like many others in the country, there was a huge push to strive for the American dream and it was no different for Maya's father and his family.

As for her mother, she came to the U.S. in the 1980s in search of better educational opportunities. She was excited to see the unique and diverse perspective that America had to offer. Once she arrived, she fell in love and became very familiarized and attached to how the U.S. embraces diversity.

Maya's experience

Two weeks after she was born, Maya and her parents moved from Tokyo, Japan all the way to San Diego, California. Living here, she was able to grow up in a space where diversity was inherent.

Growing up a mixed child, she always struggled with the question, "Why do I not look like everyone else?". It was both interesting and exciting trying to find people who wondered the same question or shared culture with her growing up, even in California. She carried these experiences and struggles everywhere she went, and her perspectives on them began to change as she got older as well.

adjusting to the culture shock

Maya's father's family arrived in the country through Texas where they received support from many Mexican communities. From there, they left for Chicago for farm work and bounced back-and-forth between the states. With frequent relocation comes a lot of hardship, which her father's family was not unfamiliar with. They had trouble adjusting to and finding their place in the new communities they moved to, especially in the environment of the 1960s and 70s.

Maya's father tells her of how they combatted discrimination through the military and in everyday life, given the name that they carry. She often asks him "how do we navigate this?" and "how do we fight something that's bigger than us?". They're hard questions to ask, but it's helpful that she has these difficult and sensitive conversations with her parents often.

Her mother was fortunate to have a very positive experience immigrating to America; she had the privilege to be able to take advantage of the opportunities that were presented at the time. Maya shares that her mother being Asian or Japanese made navigating life "a little bit easier" due to the "model minority myth". This common myth or idea at the time helped her mother receive less pushback and questioning when coming to America.

what's going on today

As someone who has learned about the incarceration history of Japanese-Americans later in life, Maya feels that she has more growing concerns that we're repeating the same mistakes history has made. She shares that "we're kind of stuck in this cycle of history that is oppressive to people that look like you and I". It concerns her that that rhetoric is becoming more and more accepted and normalized. She sees it in the movements that are currently happening that take us several steps back from much of the social justice and civil liberties that we and our ancestors have fought for for so many decades. Although it's concerning, she is doing all she can to hold on to hope for a better future.

Even though social media comes with many negative side effects, she is grateful for the positive impacts people of any age can create using their platforms. Maya expresses, "I think because we have the internet, because there are online communities for young people like yourself to voice their perspective and kind of get engaged in civics and communities, it makes me more hopeful that we can recover from it with the next generation like yourself as kind of the next wave of leaders to shape the future of America". She is hopeful for the future, but is sad and disappointed that we have to fight this fight again.

a nostalgic childhood meal

Japanese curry "1000%" reminds her of her childhood and brings her back to her roots. Her mother always loved to cook and was an amazing cook. As she looks back on the dish, having Japanese curry was always a reminder of her roots in Japan. It became quite a popular dish as she was growing up, and was happy and appreciative to see that it was able to bridge so many unique cultures together.

holding on to heritage

Growing up, Maya couldn't tell if there was a difference between being Japanese and Japanese-American. If there was, she was unsure of what that difference looked like. Because of this, she didn't get involved in the community until 2018 where she was living in San Francisco and participated in a Cherry Blossom Queen program there. It was through that experience that she was exposed to the Japanese American culture and was able to bridge and connect with some of her experiences growing up in Japan. Surrounded by a supportive Japanese-American community and culture, she was able to strengthen her own identity as a J.A. (Japanese-American) in California. She's even involved with the festival to this day.

Her involvement doesn't stop there. She helps out in areas in Southern California such as Kizuna and worked at the Go for Broke National Education Center for two years. She is always actively looking for ways she can volunteer or work in a community in order to keep the culture and spirit of their community alive.

Growing up surrounded by J.A. culture has taught her small but important things--like the culture of respect--that she still carries with her and hopes to pass on to her future family. She celebrated common Japanese holidays such as Girl's Day (March 3rd), Children's Day (May 5th), and often went to the Obon festival during the summer. Engaging in fun cultural holidays and traditions like these are what helped Maya stay connected to her ancestors in Japan, but also stay connected to the community and culture here in the U.S.

Doing things in order to stay connected to her culture can range from everyday behaviors in the house to speaking the language. She feels very privileged and grateful that she was able to learn and speak Japanese growing up since her mother spoke it often at home. She really enjoys speaking Japanglish at home.

culture fading away

Maya feels that because of the advancements of technology and the internet, we all have a second chance to connect to our roots and preserve our culture. Cultures have evolved and will continue to evolve over time, and it's nothing to be concerned about; it's completely normal. But, Maya shares, "with the internet, but also kind of the strength of the community, how tight-knit a community like Little Tokyo and Japanese-American community is, we've done a great job in preserving the culture".

She hopes that that'll continue and keep growing. Especially now that we live in a time where we have access to digital footprints of what our cultures are like and how it has changed over the years. "I'm hopeful that it's going to stay healthy and kind of prominent in our lives".