A Note from the Mothership

The dictionary definition of mothership is a “ship serving smaller craft.” What happens when the smaller craft are further away than they used to be? When you’re needed but not in the same ways and with the same frequency?

With these thoughts on my mind, I wrote an essay for Business Insider in which I shared:

“…I also want for them what I never had as a first-generation immigrant student — college life with all its drama and glory, freedom to indulge their intellectual curiosity, and the opportunity to individuate from us. I have longed for them to have these experiences, forgetting what I might lose in the process. Be careful what you wish for.”

Now that I’m a different kind of mothership, I describe in the essay a journey I aspire to:

“While my child is individuating from us, I, too, want to individuate in ways that I couldn't as an eldest daughter of immigrant parents.”

I hope you’ll read the essay. It’s behind a paywall but hopefully this link (there will be some blank white space but keep scrolling!) will work for you.

If not, reach out and I’ll send you a PDF.

With gratitude,
Sayu