My childhood was filled with cultural and geographical shifts, and experiences of displacement and adaptation. The earliest years of my life were spent living in an isolated settlement in the deep jungles of Papua, Indonesia near a copper and gold mine where my father, a Thai immigrant to the United States, worked. Due to these circumstances, I had little opportunity to interact with other children which taught me how to befriend and appreciate human beings of all kinds. My first memories are from the walks my Indonesian nanny, Samini, would take me on every day around our small village and through the jungle where aboriginal tribes lived. Wrapped tightly around her back with a blanket, she’d carry me with her on little journeys in which I’d observe with curiosity from behind her shoulders.

I am grateful to have had these types of experiences as a child which taught me to see the world, and the people in it, without judgement or fear.