Farewell KoreAm!

My favorite internship ever ended with a lunchtrip to...where else...a Korean restaurant. (We actually hardly eat Korean food at KoreAm, Gardena is a very Japanese cuisine-loving town.)

Over burning pieces of meat and spicy cabbages, the mostly female magazine team (both Audrey magazine and KoreAm are run by gals) and I reminisced about the great chats, lovely advice and superb fun I've had my four months here.

I've had many internships in my days. Mostly in the media and entertainment industry but I've worked in marketing, PR, research. I've worked for big companies in spacious suites atop Beverly Hills skyrises. I've worked in amazonian studio lots where soap stars would drive by on golf carts. I've worked in offices where the furniture probably costs more than my college tuition.

But it was in this steely factory-looking building in a city full of industrial trucks and Mexican fruit stands where I got the opportunity to explore my full print journalistic instincts, be faced with new challenges and obstacles everyday, and learn that you can love your job. And not only that, I was in the presence of an array of amazing, talented and accomplished Asian American females that dish out life advice and snarky commentary like no other. Through their life experiences, I'm able to gaze into a crystal ball and see how my life can turn out and what I should avoid.

My cousin and I had a discussion about this and I feel like if I could afford to, I would love to write, report, comment and investigate even if I weren't getting paid. I love feeling like I'm touching someone somewhere with my words and making a difference in my own way--by shedding light to stories that otherwise might not get told.

Asian American media has always had a hard time staying afloat and "in this economy" and with print journalism dying out, it's a wonder everyday that KoreAm Journal is still alive. But it's important for Asian American media to be here. When I read about Katie Holme's struggles to become an actress, it hits me differently than when I read about Sandra Oh's. I relate to Sandra more, whether it be her physical appearance of having black hair and a flat face or her family or her circle of friends. I want other Asian Americans out there to feel that kind of relatability, belonging. My feelings on being Asian American and working in the entertainment industry are long and complex and must be saved for another entry (hopefully coming soon) but I just end on one note:

Thank you KoreAm and Audrey, for giving us a voice.
Thank you for sharing our stories.
Thank you for making me feel like I belong.
Ok, so that's three notes but still...

I will miss being part of that family but you know, I'm still working on these issues right here on this blog and who knows, I might be back sooner than you think. We'll see!

Yea, we're Asian and we're proud.