Reflecting on Our First Year
Project Lotus Team
Here at Project Lotus, we’ve been working for over a year now to help bring change and awareness within the Asian American community. Since our founding in the late months of 2019, we have posted countless blogs, hosted many webinars, and even had a few fundraisers. Our organization itself has also grown from 4 to 37 members! With everything we’ve done, we thought that it would be a good time to retrace our steps and look back on our first year through this venture. So, we decided to compile some of the thoughts and reflections of our wonderful members on what we hope will be the first of many fruitful years.
-Jaiyoun Choi, Blog/Editorial Team Leader
Daniel Gu - Executive Director
When I started Project Lotus I had absolutely no idea what journey it would take me on. Mental health advocacy has been a strong passion of mine built up by my own experiences, and this organization has been the most amazing way to act upon that passion to make a genuine change in the community. Seeing families begin to change their perception of mental health, connecting with other community members and organizations over a collective mission, all while working with the most amazing team of passionate youth has only reaffirmed my own passion for mental health advocacy in the community.
Helen Chen - Finance Director
As someone who has personally struggled with mental health issues and the unique problems it faces in the Asian community, Project Lotus acted as an open platform that helped me come to a deeper understanding of myself and the community I am part of. In addition to that, it has been so fulfilling to see more AAPI community members speak up about mental health advocacy and collectively tackle the issue. Looking back at the effort Project Lotus members put into the organization made me realize the passion everyone has for our mission. It has been amazing to work with everyone on the team, and I am ecstatic to have had the chance to be a part of this organization. I hope to continue spreading awareness on the mental health stigma and make a difference in the Asian American community with my team.
Joyce Chen - Creative Director
I had always been conscious of the stigma and shame associated with mental health in Asian communities, but I didn't know what to do about it. To me, it was just the way of life. Project Lotus has helped me realize that there are people who are willing to listen, and that change is possible. Although we are still fairly in our budding stages, the whole team's worked very hard to get to where we are now. I'm especially proud of all the events and content we've put together. There are many exciting projects in store, and I'm incredibly excited for another year with this team!
Aaron Li - Marketing Director
While I’ve always been aware of the immense effects mental health stigma has had on my community, I’ve previously viewed it as an influence that would constantly be there. Starting Project Lotus was a manifestation of my will to change that. Through Project Lotus, I’ve had the chance to interact with numerous AAPI community members and have realized that mental health stigma extends across geographical boundaries. The variety of perspectives and stories I’ve heard has helped me become a better mental health advocate and it has just been so rewarding to see how the initiatives we create positively impact members of the AAPI community. Working with this team has been a pleasure and I could not be more proud of every single one of us. Although the problem is far from being solved, I’m confident that if we, as a community, continue to fight, we can eventually break the negative narrative surrounding mental health.
Oftentimes it’s tough to speak up and be heard, and stigma can make it difficult for a lot of us to get the support we need. I know that for me, my family, and my closest friends that so many things unique to the AAPI experience can continue to make our mental health seem like an uphill battle. However, while we’ve only tackled a sliver of the problem, I’m hopeful that as we move forward we as a community can continue to change the narrative surrounding mental health together.
Jaiyoun- Blog/Editorial Team Leader
Personally, Project Lotus has been a way for me to see what the people around me experience inside. In our community, so few people are willing to talk about their story and all the struggles they’ve faced. As the head of the editorial team on Project Lotus, it’s been a great experience seeing so many people open up through our platform and feel the relief of letting their voice out. Moreover, it’s been amazing to see everyone come together with a common understanding to change our culture’s view on mental health. I look forward to seeing more of our followers share their voices and work together to create a better community!
Arushi Agarwal - Marketing Team
More than just an organization, Project Lotus has felt like a family. Since I joined last August, I have learned so much about the diverse culture I’m part of and how unique and versatile each one of our experiences as Asian Americans are. It’s common to feel misheard and judged and be silent in times of crisis, but Project Lotus has allowed me and my peers to voice our thoughts and opinions on a big platform, which is not something you can do easily in today’s world. Promoting hope and resilience in turbulent times has been extremely rewarding, and I can’t wait to further the expansion and growth of the AAPI community through Project Lotus.
Annabel Wang- Blog/Editorial Team
After working with Project Lotus for a year, I have become much more aware of the model minority myth and how much I internalize my struggles. It has also helped me understand the origin of the toxicity in the Asian community, and the mindset of my immigrant parents instead of blaming them. One of our writers, JDT, made me realize just how far back this mindset runs, as despite our large age difference we have experienced almost identical childhoods in terms of mental support. We still have a long way to go, but acknowledging and understanding is a big step forward.
Jenna Ligutom - Research Team
Although I haven’t been a member of Project Lotus for too long, I already feel a sense of camaraderie with the whole team. I joined out of interest and a desire to spew out all my struggles and experiences with the model minority myth, among other quandaries that seem to be exclusive--so to speak; to the Asian American community. I am overjoyed to know that I am not going through it alone; that others are also striving to overcome the hurdles that racial stereotypes and our Asian forefathers have burdened us with through a chain of toxic mentalities and ideologies. I have learned that there are people who share the same goals and are working towards the betterment of the AAPI youth. Moving forward, I would like to stay and assist Project Lotus as much as I can and spread our mission of dismantling the model-minority myth, while also allowing our platform(s) to be seen as a haven for all the walks of life in the AAPI community.
Jeffrey Tao - Blog/Editorial Team
Being at Project Lotus has greatly expanded my outlook on the issues faced not only by the Asian community but also by me as an individual. I always shook off these issues and denied their existence, thinking that they just didn’t happen to me. It wasn’t until after I read the numerous stories Asian Americans my age wrote that I finally started to realize that instead of hiding these issues to myself, I should face them head-on and find better ways to deal with them. As more and more Asian American teenagers’ stories become heard, I hope others in our community will begin to see our lives using a wider lens.
Elise Cruz - Marketing Team
Joining Project Lotus has been one of the most vital experiences in my life. On a personal level, I feel as though I became more aware of how the model minority myth has negatively impacted me. There was a time where I used to downplay the struggles I faced as an AAPI woman. But simply talking to the Project Lotus team, promoting our blogs, and even helping to create content has greatly reaffirmed that I’m not alone in this and that our issues and feelings have every justification to be heard. I’ve also learned to become even more appreciative of the AAPI community, I’ve seen how we have been able to collaborate (i.e creating new resources for people) to better our community. Going forward, I fervently hope that Project Lotus continues to educate and provide a safe space for the AAPI community.
Anna Vu - Research Team
Project Lotus is a one-of-a-kind organization, both in its content direction and inner operations. As a researcher and writer for the educational content that Project Lotus produces, I feel so lucky that I’m able to be a part of destigmatizing mental health in the Asian community and talk about my own mental health experiences - something that I never thought I would have a chance to do. As we reflect on one year of Project Lotus, I hope that moving forward, we will continue to grow as a community in face of hardships and make an impact on those who are struggling to understand their identity and mental health.
Kacey Lee - Projects Team
Most of my experiences with Project Lotus have been from an outside perspective. Mental health advocacy as it pertains to stigmatization and accessibility has always been extremely valuable to me because it has directly impacted my life; being a survivor of assault and growing up in an emotionally hostile community, my mental health journey hasn’t been easy. Furthermore, because I grew up in a predominantly white town, I felt disqualified from speaking up about mental health because the conversation was always dominated by white voices and experiences. Project Lotus established a vital intersection between my Asian identity and mental health that was both refreshing and crucial, as it helped to instill validation that I was not alone in my mental health struggles and that there was something I could do about it. I’m very excited to see the projects that are currently being planned fully come to positively impact people’s lives.
Bao Khong - Video Production Team
“A = average, B = below average, C = can’t eat dinner, D = don’t come home, F = find a new family.” This was one common joke found throughout the Asian community. If you search up “Asian grading scale,” you might come across this statement. However, for some, this wasn’t a joke. Throughout the world, Asians are directly being influenced by this idea. The idea that you must achieve the highest score, that you must be the best, and that your accomplishments reflect your self-worth. It negatively influenced me and I didn’t know what to do. That was until I came across the organization called Project Lotus when I was invited by my friend Alan to join as an editor. During my time at Project Lotus, I learned that the thing I was being influenced by was actually the model minority myth and that many others have had similar experiences. Being able to contextualize the feelings and concepts I had experienced was truly refreshing. Overall, Project Lotus gave me the ability to educate myself on Asian-American mental health. Personally, as an editor, I’m looking forward to how I can contribute to this cause with my strengths. Furthermore, I’m looking forward to what resources our team will produce in the near future.
Alan Zhou - Video Production Team
My first experience working with Project Lotus was before I even became part of the team. The executive director, Daniel Gu, reached out to me and asked if I could help create a video montage of AAPI youth reflecting on Mental Health Awareness Month 2020. This was towards the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was already impacting our mental health in many ways. In addition, there had just been a large spike in hate crimes against Asian-Americans across the country. Hearing everyone’s stories and experiences in the video made me realize the importance of sharing different voices from the community. Even as I was editing the video, I felt comforted and empowered knowing that I was not alone and that others were going through the same things I was. Thus, I chose to join Project Lotus so that I could help amplify these voices and make an impact on our community.