"Is our home not good enough?"
"Why do you want to move out and leave us behind?"
These are questions my parents pelted me with, when they found out I secretly applied to colleges out of state.
My parents always assumed I'd live with them until I get married, not move out at 18 to explore the world on my own. They're refugees from the Khmer Rouge and emigrated from Cambodia 20 years ago. I was born and raised in San Francisco, very different than the rural village my parents grew up in.
My whole life, my mom and dad have owned and operated a donut shop in the Richmond District. From 5 am to midnight, they trade off working the counter and rolling the dough. After a whole night's work making all the chocolate, glazed, and sugar raised, they barely had time to raise me.