Neither Here, Nor There
I am a Visual and Media Production student studying at Emerson College in Boston. I was born in California by two Taiwanese parents, but moved to Thailand at the age of 6. Like many other millennials, I use social media daily. I use certain media outlets to share and communicate my stories to a larger audience. While many others post and contribute to their profiles constantly, I usually use media to gather news or to keep in touch with friends. I’ve migrated twice now and it has greatly impacted my cultural and social identity. Moving has also changed the way I communicate with friends on a daily basis, such as maintaining relationships through private messaging apps and sharing photos. Time and technological advancements have transformed how I communicate — from phones and texts, to voice messages and images.
I am apart of the International School of Bangkok Alumni community at my high school. This community has incredible meaning to me because of the strong friendships I still have with teachers and students from my school years. It was also here where I began my interest to be an active global citizen. Our high school was extremely oriented towards community service around Bangkok, so the values they shared with us have inspired my peers and me till today. Many of them share service opportunities and news on social media that are in line with the values and ideas we were taught in school. Migration for education has helped me to explore new places because many of my peers have moved to different parts of the world. Media has allowed me to bridge and maintain friendships in various corners of the world, while reading news and staying informed about the present.
This personal narrative was written at the 2016 Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change. It exists as part of a digital publication called MOVE which aims to educate readers on the social, political, and cultural impacts of global migration. All stories published in MOVE were created at the 2016 Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change by students and faculty from around the world
