As a First Gen Latina professional, who lived most of her young adult years with her parents, I feared the licuadora going off or the sound of the paletero during my meetings. I recall feeling so anxious before my virtual meetings because I didn’t want to look “unprofessional.” I had to consistently tell my mom, “Ama, no vaya a moler nada en la próxima hora.” And then she would hit me the “ay sorry mija se me olvido.” 🫠 Anybody else relate? 😩

The cultural negotiations we have to do as First Gens often include navigating working from home in a multi-generational home. Sometimes it’s not as easy as just telling our parents or family members to ‘keep it down’ for the next hour. It may require more than this simple explanation. Often, our parents or family members who have never navigated educational or professional spaces have a hard time understanding why we need a quiet space for a given time or the nuances of meeting virtually. Perhaps a level of understanding might have increase as a result of COVID, but still not quite.

If you’re a student or ‘professional’ working from home en una esquinita de tu casa and residing with your parents or family, please compassionately remind yourself that you’re doing the best that you can with the resources you have. Maybe you decide to plan for alternative ways to show up virtually but maybe it’s out of your capacity or control. If this is the case, take a long deep breath, remind yourself that you are capable regardless of your current home/environmental circumstance. 💚

Abrazos fuertes,
Dra. Hernández @palantetherapy ✨

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Stepping into April with a friendly reminder to my fellow First Gen/children of immigrants… ✨

💚 who are constantly navigating many ‘first’ in their professional careers…

💚who work relentlessly to achieve their dreams and their parents…

💚who often sacrifice their mental health and emotionally blackmail themselves to push their limits because ‘it will be worth it’ …

💚who feel the financial burden to support their parents because they are their parents’ retirement plans…

💚who show up authentically in professional and academic spaces despite navigating the ‘imposter phenomenon’…

💚who are breaking unhealthy generational cycles because they noticed a pattern and decided it ends with them…

🌵may you see your worth beyond academic/ professional parameters,

🌵may you follow your dreams even if they’re different from what your parents want or hope for you,

🌵may you engage in growth: growing out and growing in

🌵may you continue to engage in healing

🌵may you grant yourself permission to step into unknowns with compassion

🌵may you lean into the intergenerational resilience your ancestors gifted you with

Con compasión, orgullo, y fortaleza,
Dra. Hernández @palantetherapy 🤍

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