I was brought up by strict Roman Catholic parents, and I remember as a kid, having to recite “The Creed” at every mass. Though I learned the words by rote, and even tried to understand its meaning, the credo never burned into me. I guess the Catholic-hood was not meant for me.

I don’t believe in Elvis

I don’t believe in Zimmerman

I don’t believe in Beatles.

I just believe in me

Yoko and me

And that’s reality

Though I’m of Asian (Pacific Islander) descent, I still connected with the crux of all the words ideas layered and bundled together like a ball of yarn. I moved from my birth homeland in my pre-teens and grew up in the cold harsh winters of Edmonton, Alberta; and learned to adjust to the Canadian culture: the language, customs and rituals. I was introspective about all the changes, especially observing the harder times that the older generation in my family (my parents and eldest sister who was in her mid-teen) were experiencing. People often say that kids have an easier time to adjust, but not necessary so when the kid sees others’ struggles.

I am at a point in my life where I’m fairly established in my career, and the journey brought me here, because of choices that I made based on the information that I absorbed and made my own to make my own choices for my own reasons. I chose to be in a male- dominated career, because I didn’t like the domineering patriarch world of my younger world. I think I wanted to be part of the culture that seemed to control my life in my formative years. I wanted to be in the driver’s seat as soon as I was able to do it, no matter what it took.

The men in the family made the decisions and gave the orders. I didn’t have a choice to go to a catholic school; go to church on Sundays to recite “The Creed”. These places of education and religion are strong binders that mold an individual’s’ thinking and way of life. But I was resistant to absorbing what the others were immersing me into. I needed to identify with who I really was, and I wouldn’t be able to do that accepting others’ beliefs. I had to find my own way, and the journey has been fulfilling. “The cup overflows” with joy, sadness, disappointments, celebrations.

To understand where I’m coming from explains how and why I got here. The choices I made in the past determined the outcome.

Today I am part of the sisterhood of the Coup. As women we’ve all experienced the challenge of breaking through the glass ceiling. Our sex has set us aside. I will try not to be complacent, and will continue to break through any glass ceilings or labels that others impose.