Throughout my childhood, I’ve always questioned my parents’ family history and why my great grandparents were important in our family. During Thanksgiving break, I sat down with my aunt Michelle Dang and my two cousins Scarlett and Philip to write down our family tree starting with our great grandparents from both my grandma and grandpa on my mom’s side.
My grandpa Lien Phan born on May 29, 1949 and his wife Minh Pham born on Oct. 28, 1950 are my grandparents on my mom’s side. I would question my grandparents about how many siblings and extended family they have, and my grandma Minh would often tell me “the family will just keep growing and growing.” In addition, growing up in a traditional Vietnamese household does question my ancestry, as I speak to my younger cousins about how we are related and knowing your relatives.
Eventually, I sat both my grandpa and grandma down to discuss how they met and why extending the family was important to them. Lien Phan and Minh Pham met in Vietnam in the 1940’s as young teenagers falling in love. My grandpa Lien Phan said, “your grandma and I got married at the age of 16 and had our first daughter, who is your mom, at 18.”
Therefore, my grandparents have been together for more than sixty years. The love and support they have for each other is what I admire the most about them because they carry on the traditions of the Vietnamese culture itself and the importance of family.
Oftentimes, my grandparents would remind me what it means to keep your family roots going by being proud to be a Vietnamese and knowing that the culture will forever be an important part of myself. Growing up I acknowledged experiencing my grandparents telling me about our Vietnamese culture and why it’s significant for our younger generations to know as well.
My grandparents would tell me the importance of a traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony, Lunar New Year and honoring your ancestors. It was fascinating to know so much from my grandparents about the traditions they have known growing up.
The traditions that my grandparents have taught me to remember where I’m from and why it’s important to keep my heritage close to me. Also, knowing that my Vietnamese roots are unique. Every day I’m grateful that I have a family that continues with the importance of being a proud Vietnamese individual and knowing that it’s encouraged to keep the roots going.
Finally, I hope my younger cousins will continue knowing their Vietnamese roots and realizing that our grandparents’ legacy is important to keep and also cherish. In addition, I am beyond grateful to have my Vietnamese heritage and knowing that it’s important to acknowledge it and worth holding onto forever. At the same time, being Vietnamese shows me that I come from a family that values its culture and also tells the younger generation everything about the culture and heritage that is passed down.