“Mangoes and Rice”
@labitlabit
Happy AAPI Heritage Month!
Making this video was definitely a labor of love and to bring a familiar feeling out onto the screen was a different feeling of fulfillment.
Stephen had told me he had written this song for his sister, who would often get overwhelmed by life & work, reach a tipping point, explode, and then reset only to experience it all again.
This resonated with me pretty deeply, because I know myself as someone who takes on more than he can chew, gets overwhelmed, and crashes out more often than not. And luckily I also have an older brother who is always there for me.
It’s a vicious cycle, and one that I have learned comes in part by being a first generation Asian American. Some of the self-imposed pressure to succeed, being aware that my family had uprooted their lives from their country to give us a different & better opportunity here, is in itself a large undertaking. Having that built-in thought in my mind sometimes takes over, and brings me out of the present by comparing myself to other’s success, magnifying my failures, and feeling like their sacrifices were all for not.
Then it comes back. Re-grounding myself in the present, being grateful for where I am, what I have, and who loves me. Accepting my mistakes and realizing they’re a part of my own journey. It’s a story and an experience I know is not exclusive to myself, and continuing to share that story in different forms is something I always want to do, because different people will digest things in different ways. Art inspires art, like Stephen’s song inspired me. Especially at a time like this, we need to maintain the arts to maintain our voices and celebrate diversity.
Thank you
@labitlabit for allowing me to create art with you, thank you
@hannah.ignacio for being an amazing lead and really nailing what we all go through, and thank you to my tiny crew for the day for supporting this piece coming to life!
Dammit I typed too much, credits in comments 😂
