Advocacy Is Not a Choice
By Katie Tiên Trần
If I could choose, I'd pursue my childhood dream of becoming an astronaut or dancer. I never wrote "Advocate" as a child to describe who I wanted to become. Advocacy is a responsibility and an identity. For some, politics might be merely a hobby or dinner table conversation. Politics only negatively impacts those who cannot afford to ignore it.
As a woman of Vietnamese descent, I was taught not to speak up. Not to get angry. Not to challenge authority. I was taught to keep my head down, be polite, be grateful, be kind, do what I was told, and follow the line … and I did. I studied well in school. I earned my bachelor’s degree and then my Masters. I collected certificates. I secured a stable job. I found ways to earn a decent living. I worked hard for my money. I tried to be independent and not depend on the social system. I gave back to the community. I put others first.
As a child of immigrants, I began my advocacy journey without knowing what I was doing or fully understanding "advocacy." The word advocate doesn't even have a proper translation in Vietnamese. Advocacy started with my mother — applying for benefits on her behalf, translating her employment, health, and social services documents, translating in the courtroom, and advising her on what to do when she was mistreated at work. Then, it extended to random seniors asking for help when they saw me in public — a document they didn't understand, how to deal with a traffic ticket, or how to navigate government systems.
All roads led me to serve as a community and nonprofit leader for a decade. More people came to me, asking for help and sharing their stories. How could they navigate the healthcare system? How do they fight back when discriminated against? Their stories are mine, my family's, and my friends'. This country is our first and second home. Some of us chose America to be our home. Many of us were born here. We are grateful for this home and are working to build it up. Yet this same home puts up fences and cages that keep us down.
I was never a talker; I was more of a listener. I have made more and more space in my heart to hold all their stories and struggles, unrealized dreams, and all the lives we could not live. I hold those stories inside me until they burst. They demand to be shared, to be told, and to be heard.
People called me an advocate before I came to admit I was one. An advocate stands up and speaks up for others and oneself. I was not so fond of talking about myself because I was not taught to do so. I was not taught to speak up, to stand up. But through telling others' stories, I have learned to put words into my own story. Through standing up for others, I have found the strength to stand up for myself. I have a responsibility to myself and to this world. So yes, I am an advocate.
I might have been an astronaut or a dancer, but I am an advocate. Advocacy is not a choice for me, but a responsibility and part of my identity. Because the world was handed to me on my back, not on my hands.
Katie Tiên Trần fosters healing and compassion through storytelling. She draws joy and inspiration from art, music, dance, baking, nature, and the sky.