Rachel Valle
Rachel Valle
Unsent Letters
Immigrant guilt is experienced by children of immigrants and stems from the anxiety of not living up to one’s parents’ expectations and/or of accomplishments falling short of the many sacrifices made to give them a better life. Children of immigrants typically refrain from having conversations with their parents about mental health issues because of the stigma associated with it, and because they feel guilty and tell themselves they shouldn’t complain. Even if the subject is broached, immigrant parents react discouragingly. Engendering guilt, their remarks act as cages, holding back feelings children wish they could tell them about. As a first-generation child of immigrant parents who struggles with major depressive disorder and social anxiety, I yearn for the opportunity to share my feelings with my parents. Unsent Letters is a conceptual project that encourages viewers to open and read letters from adult children of immigrants whose candid correspondence counters the words of discouragement typically uttered by immigrant parents. The only way to disrupt the endless cycle of generational trauma is to break the silence. Unsent Letters starts the conversations.
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