About Me — Jamon Sin

Sharing experiences through my lens

Photo by Jamon Sin

Beginnings

I have a feeling this will be one of the hardest, if not, the hardest post I will ever do. Because let’s be honest for a sec, how does one manage to fit their entire life story in a single page? I’ll do my best, but just know I will likely expand on various sections later down the line.

I’m a first-generation Chinese American born from an immigrant family of five. I’m the youngest in line with an older brother and sister. My parents are among the courageous survivors of the common term: boat people. They fled their homeland during the Vietnam War with no other option to simply hope for survival. The entire journey from beginning to end is still pretty abstract to me—as these experiences carry immense amounts of trauma— my siblings and I grew up being cautious of what to ask, trigger points, and simply being mindful of their past chapters.

Portland, Oregon was their new home now. Having no resources, no money, and no language (English) to do the bare minimum. My parents became the ultimate definition of grit and tenacity. They had to build everything from scratch, literally. Working multiple jobs and shifts just to make ends meet. All this coincides with social class disparities, racism, and adapting to a completely new environment. To make it all that much…