same human being

What is identity? Are you happy and satisfied with who you are, or are you struggling to fit into categories that don't fully define you?

Leslie gives her take on categories of identity. She talks about some of the challenges and rewards of going through the work of finding out who you are.

She also tells the story of when she uprooted herself from everything she knew and moved halfway around the world to find herself and test her own beliefs.

Is it possible to love through the pain and hardships life throws at us? Leslie believes the answer is yes, because she's seen it in the life of her own grandmother. In this introductory episode of Same Human Being, Leslie Kim talks about the inspiration behind this podcast. This episode is dedicated to her grandmother who passed away just a few weeks prior to this release. It was recorded on her 95th birthday.

Her grandmother, Kyung-Ja was a hugely influential person in Leslie's life, as well as in her community. Leslie briefly tells some of her grandmother's story — a northern Korean woman born into the era of Japanese occupation. Leslie talks about how she dealt with issues like discrimination and abuse, and how she eventually escaped communist North Korea and ended up here in the United States. 

Leslie also talks about the chaos that 2020 has shown us, and why it's important to stay grounded to the natural world, know your personal truths, and feel your own feelings.