041 embracing joy & living your in-between

Continuing this series on the diaspora experience, I wanted to explore what it means to hold space for yourself and live fully in the in-between.

For many of us raised in the diaspora, there’s a persistent tension between survival and joy. We carry the weight of expectations, the quiet judgments from our communities, and the history of sacrifice from our parents. Yet, somewhere within that tension, joy becomes an act of resistance.

Living in your in-between means celebrating the fusion of experiences that make you uniquely you. It’s embracing the mixed identity that comes with a hyphen, not as a limitation but as a source of richness. Your culture shapes your successes, your tastes, your kindness, and your way of seeing beauty. When assimilating into a dominant culture, people may not always understand or appreciate what’s unfamiliar to them but natural to you. This can bring reactions of jealousy, minimization, or judgment from both inside and outside your circle. But claiming joy, in any form, is a declaration that your happiness is not negotiable. This is where we begin to honor our in-between.

Honoring your in-between also means owning your worth. It is the courage to ask for opportunities, to speak your truth, and to stand in spaces that were not always built for you. It is resisting the shame that can come from imperfect language, cultural adaptation, or simply existing in duality.

Every act of self-acceptance, every boundary set, every opportunity claimed is a celebration of your resilience.

Connection to community and roots is central to all of this. Seek spaces that nourish both sides of your identity through food, art, language, or shared stories. These spaces remind us we’re not alone in navigating the in-between. The joy that grows here is rooted in authenticity, in fully inhabiting your identity without apology. In connecting with others who share similar intersections, you find reflection, understanding, and support.

Living your in-between is an act of freedom. It is weaving together your heritage, your experiences, and your dreams into something that feels whole, your unique definition of whole. Joy becomes more than a fleeting feeling; it becomes a form of resistance, a declaration that your identity, your culture, and your happiness are yours to protect and celebrate.

Maybe the greatest gift of embracing your in-between is realizing that the life you are building is uniquely yours, layered, rich, and undeniably whole.

This is the beauty of fusion, the power of identity, and the freedom that comes from finally allowing yourself to live unapologetically.