Give yourself permission to be comfortable expressing and celebrating your own culture on your terms.

My Taiwanese mother told me to speak Mandarin in a hushed voice as “Americans” hated the sound of Asian languages on their ears.  My Chinese father further asserted that English was the only language he wanted to hear my siblings and me speak.    

As the person sharing your story, being believed is powerful in contrast to having to convince someone of our experience.

If you feel the need to explain beginning to surface, versus the desire to express, it might be time to exit the conversation for now.