"The promise I have not kept, but have not forgotten." very true words. i told myself i'd dive deeper into my roots, but it seems it still hasn't happened. amazing work ♥
Your work is beautiful! You are your own unique identity and combination carrying memories and trauma and wishes, just as your grandmother was, your parents, your grandfather. I believe you’ll return to your language roots when your spirit feels it’s right🤍
This was such a powerful and moving piece. I am a British Indian and although our experiences are not fully the same, there are similarities and I feel very seen, almost emotional reading this. Beautifully written.
This is stunning. The way you wrote about language not just as communication, but as inheritance, grief, memory, and even quiet resistance, really stayed with me. The sections about your grandmother calling you “banana” and the promise you made to your grandfather hit especially hard, because they show how identity can feel both deeply personal and historically carried at the same time.
What also stood out to me was how sharply you captured the experience of being made into a question by other people. “Where are you really from?” sounds simple on the surface, but your essay shows how much pressure, suspicion, and fragmentation can be packed into a single repeated line.
You write about diasporic identity with so much clarity and emotional precision that I’m curious how you think about this more broadly: when heritage language begins to erode across generations, what do you think is actually being lost first—cultural knowledge, family intimacy, or a person’s sense of self?
This is amazing and relatable! And your writing is beautiful :)
Thank you for touching on subjects how people from different asian countries are perceived and how people view us in an hierarchical manner......after all ,all of us are humans....we bleed the same,yet perception based on nationalities, race ,color seems to still exist.I believe it's the lack of awareness, and appreciation to other cultures.
I'm excited to read your other works,more power to you !
this was so devastating to read but so well expressed and written 🤎 i really resonated with everything you said as someone who was adopted from vietnam, except i had never learned vietnamese. despite that, i still feel its loss, and i hope very much to learn someday. as for the ignorant and racist comments made towards you, i've been there too and i know the pain of it. i felt very understood reading this and that's so comforting. i'm just so happy there are people writing about these topics 🥺🤎
Your writing style is beautiful. A really moving piece, thank you for sharing.
Thank you so so much for reading <33
Beautiful.
Thank you!
this was beautiful
Thank youu <3
"The promise I have not kept, but have not forgotten." very true words. i told myself i'd dive deeper into my roots, but it seems it still hasn't happened. amazing work ♥
Tytyty <3
Your work is beautiful! You are your own unique identity and combination carrying memories and trauma and wishes, just as your grandmother was, your parents, your grandfather. I believe you’ll return to your language roots when your spirit feels it’s right🤍
Thank you so much for reading <3
It’s like traveling back in time. To these other worlds. It put my own memories at play after reading this article. I really appreciated it✨✨
https://emmetttatter.substack.com/p/eyeball-to-eyeball?r=3y6ezi&utm_medium=ios
This was such a powerful and moving piece. I am a British Indian and although our experiences are not fully the same, there are similarities and I feel very seen, almost emotional reading this. Beautifully written.
Thank you so much! <3
Jealous of how fluid your work is, although I can’t relate this was a stunning read
Thank you so much, you’re so kind :)
This is so beautiful and relatable!
Thank you so much. I’m glad this resonated with you <3
So moving, and well-written. ♥️
thank you so much, that’s really kind of you to say <3
This is stunning. The way you wrote about language not just as communication, but as inheritance, grief, memory, and even quiet resistance, really stayed with me. The sections about your grandmother calling you “banana” and the promise you made to your grandfather hit especially hard, because they show how identity can feel both deeply personal and historically carried at the same time.
What also stood out to me was how sharply you captured the experience of being made into a question by other people. “Where are you really from?” sounds simple on the surface, but your essay shows how much pressure, suspicion, and fragmentation can be packed into a single repeated line.
You write about diasporic identity with so much clarity and emotional precision that I’m curious how you think about this more broadly: when heritage language begins to erode across generations, what do you think is actually being lost first—cultural knowledge, family intimacy, or a person’s sense of self?
This is amazing and relatable! And your writing is beautiful :)
Thank you for touching on subjects how people from different asian countries are perceived and how people view us in an hierarchical manner......after all ,all of us are humans....we bleed the same,yet perception based on nationalities, race ,color seems to still exist.I believe it's the lack of awareness, and appreciation to other cultures.
I'm excited to read your other works,more power to you !
Very personal and well written!
So beautifully written, thank you for sharing <3
So glad I read this, absolutely beautiful.
this was so devastating to read but so well expressed and written 🤎 i really resonated with everything you said as someone who was adopted from vietnam, except i had never learned vietnamese. despite that, i still feel its loss, and i hope very much to learn someday. as for the ignorant and racist comments made towards you, i've been there too and i know the pain of it. i felt very understood reading this and that's so comforting. i'm just so happy there are people writing about these topics 🥺🤎