Rite of Passage: Embracing “a New Family, Community, and Future Home”
For Wooyoun Lisa Hong (CAS’19, SED’19), excitement for what lies ahead
BU recently welcomed 3,625 freshmen, each with a unique journey to campus. Photojournalist Jackie Ricciardi wanted to capture them as they prepared to launch this new chapter. So over the summer, she traveled from Minnesota to New York to Boston’s suburbs to photograph several members of the Class of 2019. They welcomed her into their homes and shared their dreams, fears, and the ways their families have shaped their lives. Parents spoke candidly about their anxieties and aspirations for their children. In our series “Rite of Passage,” BU Today brings you four students’ stories.
Wooyoun Lisa Hong says she’s always felt out of place. Although she was born in Canada and raised in Minnesota, her parents are from South Korea, and she has spent many summers there. Growing up, Hong says, she was labeled “Asian” or “alien” (Canada) at home and “Americanized” when she visited Korea. She was frequently ridiculed for her given name.
Diagnosed with clinical depression in middle school, Hong (CAS’19, SED’19) recalls times when she couldn’t look in the mirror because she felt so ashamed of who she was. But her love of music, in particular the cello, helped her get through what she calls her darkest days. She decided against bringing her cello to BU, but she’s determined to find other musical outlets on campus.
Today, she’s overcome her early struggles and is moving toward “an independent and ambitious” life. And asked if she’d go back and change anything about her life, she’s quick to say no.
“This is my story,” she says, “and it’s as much a part of me as the color of my skin, the languages I speak, my multiple names, the places I’ve been, and the people I’ve met.”
Now at BU, she says, “for the first time, I feel at peace and at home. I have found a new family, community, and future home, one that has opened its arms and embraced me…I couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead.”
Glancing through her high school yearbook, Lisa says those years were sometimes difficult. “I remember some embarrassing and mortifying moments where my true name was mispronounced, laughed at, made fun of, misunderstood,” she says. “Looking back, I regret to say that I was weak, and conformed to the norm by adopting an English name rather than taking pride in my true one. To this day, I rarely go by my given name.”
Lisa’s younger sister, Cindy, is a high school junior. “When we were younger, she always wanted to do everything I did and be just like me,” says Lisa. Now that they’re older, they are totally different, but still share the same strong bond. “She and I are always on the same team,” Lisa says. “I’m sad I won’t be there rooting her on.”
On What She Will Miss
“[My parents] make some of the best Korean food I’ve ever had and I don’t know any of the recipes.”
Lisa Hong
Audio — 33 Seconds
Lisa and her mother, Hwina, and their dogs, Chloe and Lily. Her parents, both raised in South Korea, instilled a strong work ethic in their daughter. “I always wanted to be smart and successful like them, and I remember always wanting to make them happy,” Lisa says.
Packing for her move to Boston, Lisa, like every other freshman, tries to figure out a way to fit it all. Born in Canada, raised in the United States, and spending many summers in South Korea, she says, she’s always felt out of place. “While in America, I was regarded as Asian or ‘alien,’ and in Korea I was waved off as ‘Americanized’ or ‘not really Korean.’”
Lisa with her cello at home in Shoreview, Minn. She says she began to take comfort in music and her cello after developing depression in middle school. “It was my most constant and reliable friend, a means through which I could express myself without hurting or bothering anyone. It was my emotional release, and quickly became my greatest strength. I walked into high school with my cello in hand and my head up, determined to make it through and prove to the world that I was okay.”
Lisa coaxes Chloe and Lily outside. She hopes to become an educator like her parents. “I never want anybody to feel alone the way I did,” she says. ”I want to be someone who can help others, especially those struggling.”
On Missing Her Cello
“As long as I have music in my life, I should be okay.”
Lisa Hong
Audio — 39 Seconds
Lisa greets her roommate. The two had texted and communicated a lot over the summer. “I feel like I know her already,” Lisa says.
Farewell photo, taken by Lisa’s dad just before her parents left for Minnesota. Lisa says she’s anxious to be part of “a new family, community, and future home, one that has opened its arms and embraced my and everyone else’s unique stories, differences, and backgrounds.”
This Series
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October 31, 2016
Rite of Passage 2016: Transforming Loss into Passion
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