Mitchell Kuga: Lessons Learned Along the Way

Source: www.mitchelkuga.com

I have always enjoyed writing, but I have never considered myself to be a “writer.” I have never felt a deep passion for writing like I have other things and over the years it has become more of a chore than a meaningful experience. Attending Mitchell Kuga’s speaker event at Syracuse University, however, reminded me why writing is so important and inspired me to once again find that spark within myself.

Mitchell, a 2009 S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications graduate, has found himself on quite a journey since leaving Hawai’i to go to school in the Northeast. It was evident in the way he presented his story that he is and always has been a writer, and I was quickly entranced by his story. Growing up, his self-identity never included the complexities of his Japanese heritage as that was a given in his hometown, but he did struggle with his queerness and he brought that battle with him to college. It took him a while to find his people at Syracuse, especially because the way his self-hatred manifested itself had him pushing away other queer Asian people. 

In time, Syracuse gave him a space to understand and embrace both his Asian American and Queer identities. Mitchell took an introductory Asian American studies course during his freshman year that forced him to evaluate what he thought he knew about himself, his family, and his culture. Being a fourth-generation Asian American, he didn’t grow up speaking Japanese or visiting family abroad, but his culture was still heavily ingrained in his everyday life. Japanese words flowed easily in the Kuga household, especially in the kitchen, something Mitchell had to reintroduce into his dialect when returning home from the mainland for the first time. Post-graduation, he felt exponentially more comfortable with his identities, allowing him to move home, then to New York City, and then back home again all while keeping his culture close to his heart and the focus of his writing.

Source: Instagram @mitchellkuga

One of Mitchell’s key bits of advice is that the only person you need permission from is yourself. During his early years as a writer, he constantly sought out validation from others to write about certain topics, but the truth was he was the only person getting in his way. Now, he writes openly about his intersectionality, covering a wide breadth of topics because whenever he wants to write about something, he just does, knowing it doesn’t define him. This part of his talk hit especially close to home for me. I constantly second guess myself and question my writing, debating if I am qualified enough to be writing about any given topic in the first place. Mitchell’s point, however, is that one can write about whatever they choose and they can also change their mind and write about something else the next day. It is not about finding your space and committing to it, it’s about finding your space as you and your writing grow and evolve and whatever that looks like is a new definition of success. 

Although I left this speaking event with a lot of thoughts about my own writing, Mitchell also taught me that there are always ways to improve as an ally, to which I paid special attention as well. One point he made that I had never really thought about was that it is vital to be wary of the use of the words “we” and plural forms of “you”. For such small filler words, they carry a lot of weight in conversations about identity and community. They are not words taken lightly by readers or interviewees, so it is the writer’s responsibility to take them seriously as well. Although I’m still unsure if I am a writer per se, that lesson has already affected how I interact with the world and I appreciate Mitchell’s openness and willingness to teach me.

Source: Urban Outfitters, Mitchell and his husband, Adam Kurtz