My family has torn been apart during the Khmer Rouge Genocide. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime and seeking a better future, my family immigrated from a Philippine refugee camp to the US in 1989. Arriving first in Los Angeles they eventually moved to Rosemead in the early 1994s.

On the morning of July 28th, 1994 I was born in a Los Angeles area hospital. Growing up in Rosemead in the late 90s and early 00s we had managed to carve out our little place here. My father was a cook in restaurants and my mom was a garment worker. At the time my mom would have 3 industrial sewing machines in the living room and instead of working at a factory, she managed to work from home so she was able to cook meals for our large family.