When I came to Chapman six years ago, the experience was a little isolating. The small things added up, from things like having to explain myself and my culture from scratch every few days to the lack of prominent Asian American role models in executive faculty positions. It often felt like I, and my experiences, were invisible. 

But one day in the spring of my second semester, I was walking through the Attallah Piazza on my way to class when I ran into “API (Asian and Pacific Islander) Celebration 2015.” The experience was a breath of fresh air that caught me by surprise. It was a day we had to celebrate an Asian American identity on campus, featuring amazing talent and people who embraced their heritage, culture and shared experiences unapologetically. Through dances, songs, lyrics, poetry and spoken word, it was one of the first times I felt truly seen on a campus that was supposed to be my home for the entire year.

The next fall I ended up joining the Asian Pacific Student Association as a member and grew closer in a community that laughed together at shared experiences growing up and groaned and celebrated our losses and victories in representation and diversity. That year I performed for API Celebration, and it gave me a chance to share my joy in my Vietnamese American upbringing and culture to a stage that I never thought could exist. It was a culmination of a personal journey of self-discovery in an identity I had, just a year before, almost felt ready to bury.

I would return to perform again every year — even after finishing up my classes at Chapman. However, 2020 rolled around, and API Celebration was canceled due to, well, we all know. It was a blow to the community, and it was a very lonely spring for many. 

It was later announced that APIDA Celebration 2021 would be a virtual festival streamed online April 22. I had some excitement because of how revolutionary online concerts were, changing the game all year. But a part of me was still a bit skeptical. Could it really capture that same experience? After a year of isolation, I felt like it could only be a reminder of all we had lost.

However, as soon as the event went live, all of my doubts faded away. I logged on to the live chatroom and watched amazing performances from friends I had not seen in over a year. We celebrated and cheered for all of the performances, cried and laughed together during the filmmaker contributions and discussion panels (a first for APIDA Celebration). For my performance, I made sure to highlight some of my own adventures during quarantine and how it had affected me. The magic came from embracing the struggles of the year instead of hiding them.

After a year of loneliness and isolation, it was exactly what we needed: a night that was just ours. The connections made online through Snapchat messages and group chats with friends felt no less real than in person. And the final song from headliner Will Jay closed the night out perfectly, walking us through an emotional rollercoaster from childhood experiences to the struggles we all face today. It captured the heartbreak, but also the celebration and hope.

As the night wound down, we all said our goodbyes and goodnights and I reflected on the multitude of stories shared and my personal growth in the past year. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of it, but more grateful still for the chance to connect with a group of friends over something so dear to me in a time when we needed it the most.