In this honest and powerful conversation, Sean—a process chemist at Gilead—shares her experience growing up as the child of Taiwanese immigrants. From a young age, she felt unseen in her own home: a tomboy who loved skateboarding and climbing, but who was handed frilly, feminine clothes by a mother trying to mold her into the “ideal” Chinese daughter.

Through therapy with her mom as an adult, Sean began to break the cycle of generational trauma. She set boundaries, showed her parents who she truly is, and learned that love remains—even when expectations aren’t met.

Sean opens up about the pressures growing up in a culture that prizes docility, whiteness, thinness, and perfection. She reflects on body image, beauty standards, sometimes being underestimated as a woman in science, and finding her voice in spaces that often overlook women—especially Asian women.

She also shares touching stories of her bond with her grandmother, her evolving relationship with cultural identity, and how she’s finally learning to feel at home in her own skin. One powerful moment: wearing a traditional Asian dress for her city hall wedding—something she wouldn’t have done five years ago