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Abstract

This paper is a critical reflection on the author’s educational experience as a Hmong woman. The author draws on feminist theories, and intertwines the Hmong culture and US education. The paper begins with an introduction about the author’s US-centric perspectives she had about her Hmong community. Her narrative focuses on how these perspectives influenced her interpretations of the events that took place surrounding her decision to attend college away from home. To unpack this experience, the author focused on a need to understand Hmong culture and gendered ideologies by deconstructing her then-western-perspective of why her relatives discouraged her. Through this process, she discusses the complex influences of education and culture. Although her experience is only one of many, it demonstrates how much her education influenced her negotiation between the Hmong and American world. Overall, her personal narrative sheds light on the educational experiences of women who choose to pursue a higher education away from home. In addition to discussing the more general issues of pursuing opportunities in education, her narrative also documents the complex negotiations that many women of color face.

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