Ro and Val’s friendship started at church where they met as youths, serving in the praise team, small group, and so many more shared experiences. Through the ups and downs, the significant transitions, and shifts in their identity and lives, Ro and Val’s friendship has endured and deepened into something enduring and life-long. When Val finds herself grasping at words to express her feelings, Ro fills the gaps. When Ro finds it difficult to tend to themselves, Val lightens things up and provides a much needed reminder to be silly and lean into joy. They complement each other so perfectly, it's so beautiful to witness.
Ahra and Yeni are sisters, and the very first pair to share their story with Heirlooms. Always a tight knit pair while growing up, they talk about how their relationship has shifted as they enter into adulthood, not just with each other but also with their parents. They’re both such good storytellers, quick with sharp humor, honest, and deeply introspective.
Joan Marie and Lita are a mother daughter duo who are always laughing, giggling and bubbling over with joy. Lita has always emphasized education and independence to Joan Marie, supporting her daughter through graduate studies while always reminding Joan to have fun and enjoy life. Lita and Joan’s stories are filled to the brim with adventure. In fact, they had just wrapped up a 3 week long road trip together right before we recorded this conversation.
Sisters Lisa and Belinda grew up with their family as first-gen Vietnamese Americans in the rural south, where they were the only Asian American family in town. As children, they became each others’ safe space, their bond made deeper by how close they were in age, only a year and a half apart, and also how much time they spent together at home while caring for their younger brother. While they touch on their shared struggles of growing up as refugees shouldering generational trauma and hardships, now they are both living out dreams that are bigger and grander than what their younger selves could have imagined.
Lita sings a Filipino lullaby passed down to her by her own mother
This is a conversation between Minjee and her mom, Myeongsook. Throughout this conversation, you’ll hear Minjee speaking in English while her mom speaks in Korean. It’s a great example of how even within families, experiences with language and culture can be dynamic, creating misunderstandings, rifts, yes, but also room for depth, history, and connection beyond what can be translated.
This is a conversation between Sohyun and Jackie. Sohyun arrived in the US as a graduate student, with her halting English and a heart stretched between excitement and fear. While still learning how to live in a country that was unfamiliar, she became pregnant and became a mom to her first daughter, Jackie. Throughout their conversation, they explore topics of sacrifice, fear, what it means to build a gentler home and a more expressive kind of love between parent and child. Now, Jackie is headed off to college, leaving her mom’s arms carrying two generations of dreams, full other own desire to seek out joy, freedom, and becoming.
Ahra's hopes for Yeni