Awkwafina Is the Moment (Whether She Likes It or Not)

While on the subject of her family, I couldn't help but think of the stereotype that Asian parents are hell-bent on their kids getting straight As in school and then becoming

a doctor, lawyer, CEO… *insert lucrative and fancy career here*. As a first-generation Asian American, I didn't really have that experience since my mom has been very supportive of my journalistic aspirations, albeit with a few normal reservations and parental worries. So I wondered what Lum's own family thought when she told them she wanted to go into show business. It turns out she got mixed reactions. Her aunts, uncles, and cousins thought it made sense, but her father and grandmother had different views. "My dad was having a breakdown. He was like, 'What?!' He couldn't believe it," Lum recalls with a laugh. "And my grandma was like, 'Cool. That's awesome.' So that's always been the dynamic of it. It wasn't really that traditional like, 'How dare you?!' My grandma has supported every whim that I've had. My dad was like, 'Oh my god,' and he signed me up for all of these government job listing mailings, like for meat inspectors, air traffic controllers, and things like that. I still get job listings from them."

Despite her father's reservations, Lum is flourishing in this industry. What's more, she has forged her own path and continues to break down barriers. I remember the excitement I felt watching her win the Golden Globe for The Farewell, a movie that had me sobbing in my theater seat while thinking of my own grandma and my own heritage. I asked Lum how it felt to win and if anything changed after that. "It felt just really crazy that happened at all. To know that the movie was appreciated, I'm forever grateful for that. I still can't believe that happened. But that moment was incredible because it was also a testament to my relationship with my grandma and the work that we put into Lulu's movie," she says. "And then after, it wasn't like all of a sudden the next day you could walk into RadioShack and everything's free. Like, 'Oh, come on into the back entrance of RadioShack.' You know, it did solidify things, especially for people who were just like, 'Can she do anything but just make fart jokes and things like that?'"