They Were Trying Their Best

Participatory Digital Photo Archive, 2026 - Present

This is my first crowdsourced photography project, and I’d love for you to be a part of it.

Photography has a way of helping us see ourselves and our stories with fresh eyes—to honor, celebrate, forgive, and love parts of ourselves and the people in our lives.

I’m curious to see what stories emerge through this visual collage, and what they’ll share about the many ways we experience parts of identity.

Collage of several family photos featuring children, adults, and elderly individuals during outdoor and indoor events, including park visits, gatherings, and celebrations.

Share Your Photo

Contribute to the visual archive with one picture from childhood that has taken on new meaning with time. A simple upload only takes a few minutes and helps tell a story we can’t tell alone. Plus, it’s good for the heart 🫰

Participate

What is this?

Not long ago, someone suggested I might still be carrying a wound from childhood.
It sent me back to old family photographs.
Looking at them today, I still see my younger self—but I also see something I couldn't have understood then: my parents were just people.
A Korean immigrant mother trying to build a dream. A stepfather who never got to be a child, learning how to raise a little girl as his own. Two people carrying hopes, fears, responsibilities, and burdens with limited resources and emotional tools.
They were trying their best.
That realization hasn't answered every question, but it has softened something within me. It’s given me more tenderness for the little girl I was and more grace for my parents.
If you're part of the Asian diaspora and any of this resonates with you, I'd love to invite you to share one family photograph and the story you see in it today.
Anyone who identifies as part of the Asian diaspora in the broadest sense.
You do not need to be a photographer or writer, just someone willing to spend a little time with an old photograph and share your reflections in community.
Upload one photograph from childhood that has taken on new meaning with time.
Share a short reflection of what you see now that you couldn't have seen then.
With your permission, your photograph and reflection will be featured in a curated digital community gallery launching Winter 2026.
As the archive grows, some may also be included in future storytelling projects.
This is the first in an ongoing series exploring different themes within diasporic life through photographs. Future invitations may center on subjects like home, places of worship, and other images that shape our collective memory and identity.
I hope this archive is a place of care, curiosity, and respect.
Please do not submit hateful, discriminatory, or intentionally harmful language or imagery as they will not be accepted. I also ask that you share stories and photographs you have permission to submit and that honor the dignity of those represented whenever possible.

A photograph doesn’t really change, but we do. With time and perspective, the same image can reveal an entirely different story.

A young girl wearing sunglasses and a striped dress stands in front of a round blue picnic table at a park. A boy sits on the bench of the table, smiling and laughing. There are trees, a small yellow shed, grass, and picnic tables in the background.