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Don't judge a person until you've walked a mile in their shoes. That's how the saying goes. And it’s true. You can never really know someone unless you've lived their life, or at least caught glimpses of not just the significant events, but the little day to day things. Everyone, everywhere, is who and what they are because of the experiences they have endured in their lives since the moment they were born. Little things that might appear to have no impact at all, may have a profound effect on someone, without them even realizing it. It was never more true than it was for my mother.

My mother was born in 1949 to Bay Nguyen and Ba Vuong. Seven and three, those were my grandparents. In Viêt Nam, you grow up with a number in a pecking order, starting with the first born being number 2 (because the parents are number 1, I suppose. The second born is number 3, Ba. That's my mom. And my grandmother before her, and me after her. Three ba bas, and their journey through this complicated life.

-Terry Vanderpham, Winter Cohort 2023