I was shaped by contrast.
A disciplined, fearful upbringing under a retired military father who believed survival was earned through silence and work. A vibrant mother whose light was quietly dimmed by cultural isolation and unspoken depression.
My parents’ lives tell a quiet history of endurance. My father, rose from poverty in an era that rewarded grit over vulnerability. Through discipline, service, and relentless work, he built a life from very little—only to be met decades later with a life-determining diagnosis. He refused surrender, and through grace and modern medicine, we were blessed with the gift of new lungs and the chance to breathe again. Yet as his breath was restored, cancer found its way to my mother. I grew up watching her rhythms—her routines, her resilience—as she carried illness alongside cultural isolation and unspoken sorrow, continuing to show up with remarkable strength.
After my mother’s death from cancer, and through my own health challenges, I chose not to harden but to listen more deeply. I came to understand that the body remembers what the mind is taught to endure, and that unresolved grief, anxiety, discrimination, and silence leave lasting imprints across generations.
I have witnessed the toll of life on the human body—through time, through stories, through those I love most.
This work was not born from passion.
It was born from purpose.
This is my dedication to the fight for emotional equity, mental wellness, and dignified healing. A declaration that suffering does not have to be inherited. A proclamation that a healthier tomorrow is possible—when we choose awareness, compassion, and care.
This is for those who were taught to survive quietly.
Here, we choose to heal intentionally.