Nga Vương-Sandoval – The Journey

The moment. That moment when I received the news.  I re-read my e-mail multiple times to ensure that that read it correctly. Yes!  I’m going to be presenting at the TEDx Cherry Creek event! I was overjoyed. 

I believe that things will happen when they’re supposed to happen.  I trust that there’s a greater purpose and reason for each of us individually and within our greater society. The fact that this opportunity to be a speaker at TEDx transpired at the most unlikely time meant that it was supposed to happen now. 

We’re living in the midst of an international pandemic. We’re sitting in the front row of daily events of social and racial justice movements that fiercely contend against the establishment. I’m observing that communities and individuals are defining who they are and fighting for what they believe in during this time of global unrest.  I’m witnessing the increased appetite from those who want to discover who they are and how they’re viewed by others.  I’m witnessing the importance of how others perceive us, but more importantly is how we see ourselves.

We’re in a time when there’s an upsurge for diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of our spaces.  From all of these events and issues, one particular message has become clearer than ever: how we view an individual is less significant than how that person views themselves and what they identify as. 

This is why I’m confident that now is the perfect time to present my talk on “Assimilation as Colonization.”  It’s time for me to share a topic that has profoundly shaped how I view myself, how I view others, how I interact with various communities, and how I identify with the vast world around me.  Now is the perfect opportunity for me to share my “idea worth spreading.”

Now I have the challenging mission of encapsulating how I decolonized my framework about race, culture, and identity.  I have the task of transforming how my viewpoint and personal journey ultimately inspired my talk.  Most important, I’ll be taking the TEDx stage, standing on the big red dot, and dismantling the outdated concept of assimilation.