Navigating Culture | Sharing The Stories of Bold, Brave & Badass Immigrant Women Creating their Dream Life Anya Cherrice

Hello friends,Listen to this episode to learn what updates are in store for the Navigating Culture podcast.Sneak peak: Anya, the Navigating Culture podcast, host has decide to pause the podcast till next year. Tune in to find out why.Don't forget to share your thoughts, stories, ideas with Anya via instagram at: @navigatingculture or email the team at anya@navigatingculture.coLove you lots!

What does it mean to make it in The United States of America? So many of us were sold the dream that making it means we need the huge house, the million dollars or the flashiest car. But could ‘making’ it mean something else entirely?Meet Johanna Vizmanos, an immigrant from the Philippines who thought coming to America would be the answer to all the frustrations she felt in her mother country. As a doctor’s kid, her father wanted her to study for a safe and stable profession. But no...

At 4 years old, Parisa immigrated to the USA from Iran and became the weird girl with the parents who had weird accents. After the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979, her Arizonian community shrouded her in suspicion — she was now also a weird terrorist. Those labels compelled her to push for that ever-moving goal-post of ‘Good Immigrant’ but, as many of us know you can achieve all the features of this title but still not be and feel accepted. She even felt out of place in the Persian comm...

Western ideals of success, often deeply rooted in capitalism, are often demonstrated as the only goals worth pursuing in colonized countries. In the Caribbean, we show this mentality through the extreme focus on rote memorization, earning all A’s in exams and eventually if you’re good enough, if you’re worthy enough, gaining acceptance into an international university (usually one in Great Britain or the USA). As you can imagine, this extreme focus on winning over the other has ment...

Raise your hand if any of the following resonates with you. 1) You feel like the only way you can accomplish your goals is through working harder and longer than everybody else. 2) You feel that being successful means that you have to just accept working with people who are disrespectful and mean. 3) You feel like you are a disappointment because you worked extremely hard, and your family sacrificed a lot for you. But you're stuck in a career where you don't feel like you'll ever rise through...

A common belief held amongst older women in immigrant communities is the expectation for younger women to be the traditional good daughter and daughter-in-law. Parween came face to face with this expectation as a random auntie asked her, “What do you do for work?” Parween told her about her business helping women of color improve their financial literacy. The auntie shook her head and cautioned Parween, saying, “You shouldn't get too busy with that career, because you will not be able to...