“She’s very strong and I want to resonate with that”
From my mom side of the family, I am the first one to get into a masters program. As you know I got into USC for social work. It kind of puts a lot of pressure on me, to be an example for my family and what not. The program is tough itself and trying to juggle that and trying to do the things I like to do, like cosplay, it’s been really difficult. Right now I’m trying to find a happy middle and still live up to the expectations that my family has of me.
There’s always a bunch of negative stereotypes about social workers, you know baby snatchers. I want to get rid of that stereotype and make an impact in someone’s life. I primarily want to work with individuals who have gone through some sort of sexual violence or domestic violence because I personally have been inflicted by that and I also have known people who have gone through that and I wanted to help them. That’s what persuaded me to get into this program. There have been a lot of struggles, a lot of financial hardships, emotional tolls but now I’m where I want to be. I’m still struggling but I’m getting closer to my goal of being a counselor and an advocate for someone.
It was a friend of six years or more. It was totally blindsided. My trust was broken. It was very difficult. It happened in July, so it’s really recent. Initially I had a really hard time trying to, what the heck am I supposed to do. But I convinced myself you can’t let him get away with what he did. You need to speak up. It’s not only just about you, it’s about other people because he works with teenage girls. That persuaded me. I have to say something. So I made a report. I have a counselor from Peace Over Violence.
My character is from an anime called Attack on Titan. Her name is a Mikasa Ackerman. We defend ourselves with these swords. It’s an ongoing battle between the Titans and humanity. This character, she’s very strong and I want to resonate with that, especially now. She’s very determined. She has her own free will, not only to do things for herself but she acts on those she cares about. She uses her strength to protect others. Her strength has a purpose.
I did have a little Pikachu. I used to carry it around everywhere. It’s name was Pika. It was more than just a plaything. It had sentimental value, enough for me to feed it. It gave me a sense of comfort that I never was really alone. There were a lot of times in my childhood without much involvement with a parent. So having something, it kind of helped not to be alone.