Rising without a Country.

We all grew up watching and rooting for other Asian ethnicities—any Asian that felt like the next best representation of us. But, the time has finally come where we are again and again, seeing us, exactly as ourselves—actual Hmong representation on large platforms. And it shows just how long we’ve lived without ever seeking acknowledgement because we’ve only had the goal to survive. But now that we know that we’re capable, just as deserving, as intelligent and as talented, we are now truly taking up space in our fullest form.

We never needed a country. And we are truly the world’s testimony of what it means to be a people, a culture, and a community—something that even those with a country to return to, do not have. Because we have been uprooted from every physical thing that we could’ve ever called our own, could’ve called home, and we’ve been extinguished time and time again, to the point where we as a people, just learned how to build homes and identity into our hearts and our bodies. In the way we dream, the way we love and support one another, and the way we show up. We’ve mastered the very skill of adapting, surviving and excelling itself—and moving together all the while doing it.

And it is absolute proof seeing that we’ve risen to the top as representatives of the very countries that have historically oppressed us—and have become acknowledged, honored, and have put ourselves on the map with such deafening presence.

It really is so special to be Hmong in this lifetime. We always flipped the cards we were dealt with and we are truly such a rare species that have defied all odds. I feel so rest assured that the future of our people are in such good hands. Not just because of our Olympian or Miss Universe Laos (Payengxa Lor) and larger figures, but because of every one of us who show up everyday in our own crafts in our own ways, and still carrying our people with them every step of the way. The artists, the creatives, the entrepreneurs, the teachers, the athletes, the professionals, the dreamers, the aspiring—all of us.

We are Hmong. This is who we are and we’re here to stay.