“Their personal mission is to not only be ‘comfortable enough to be herself’ but also to ‘give others the opportunity to do the same.’”
Anica was adopted from Anhui province in China when she was approximately 8 months old. They grew up in the Bay Area of California with her two white mothers. Throughout their childhood, Anica had the privilege of being close to both Asian and American culture: participating in cultural or culinary customs was relatively easy since they were nearby; she also had lots of Asian friends. Anica is still grateful to live near communities with other Asians since it “does make a difference to see people who look like you; there’s familiarity in that.”
While self discovery is always a gradual journey, Anica has spent much of the last few years exploring what it means to be involved in the adoptee community and other communal spaces they find important. Balancing both their queer and adoptee identities informs how she interacts with the world, and when doing so, they are eager to bring their whole self. Anica is aware that the parts of their identity that she closely associates herself with are not necessarily outwardly visible: for now, Anica is she/they, transracial adoptee. So they know the importance of being mindful of how others’ understand themselves. In fact, community is probably what drives Anica most. A self-declared “connector,” Anica loves helping others. Their personal mission is to not only be “comfortable enough to be herself” but also to “give others the opportunity to do the same.”
In addition to her involvement in CCI, Anica’s involved with BIPOC Adoptees Organization, which places an emphasis on the BIPOC adoptee experience across different countries, the Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network (KAAN), Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), and Young Invincibles. Fascinated not only by community but also by how our history affects how we exist today and tomorrow, she is now going back to school to pursue a degree in sociology.
Humans of CCI profiled on Facebook in 2023.