Mallika and Vi-An: Shapes and Sounds interview #11

Out of all the news that I have shared with you about the growth of Shapes and Sounds, today's news has to be the best.

I'm excited to say that Shapes and Sounds is no longer just a product of my singular imagination, but that we are now joined by two amazing humans, Mallika and Vi-An.

Mallika brings fire and intensity to Shapes and Sounds, and Vi-An brings the energy of a deep and quietly powerful river. We've been working on a couple of programs to bring to you next year so if you're not already, make sure to stay connected with us via the form at the bottom of the page.

You'll hear more from Mallika and Vi-An in the new year, however for now, I'm very excited to provide this introduction and share their Shapes and Sounds interview with you!

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Could you please tell us your name, age and what it is that you do?
 
M: My name is Mallika (it means Jasmine in Sanskrit). I’m 27 and over the past few years I’ve worked in youth mental health and with multicultural youth as a social worker. Outside my 9-5, I’m either cooking, looking at pictures of my fam dog Peach, or hanging out with my friends! 
 
V: My name is Vi-An and I’m a psychologist focusing on the areas of women’s mental health and cross-cultural experiences. I previously worked in professional services in the area of organisational performance and leadership, having completed by Master of Organisational Psychology.

I’ve now started a new pathway that involves working with women and girls on topics such as career counselling, work stress as well as growing up Asian in Australia!

What do you do to take care of your mental health and wellbeing?

M: Connection is really important for my mental health - whether that’s going for a picnic with my friends, cooking with my partner, or a phone call with my mum. The pandemic restrictions made it really hard to connect with my friends and fam, so I had to be quite creative... My favourite pandemic activity was throwing a zoom dance party!

V: This year, I’ve been lucky to have had the time to test a variety of practices to improve my mental health and wellbeing.

I recently participated in a coaching and yoga program which included regular mindfulness mediation. I’ve been trying to stick to this habit for the past 2-3 months and has found it really helps me feel grounded and manage stress when it arises.

I’ve also found that writing has been a great way to release and process emotions. Overall, through these programs and rituals I’ve been able to find amazing people and processes to work through any issues plaguing my mind.

And I can’t lie, dark chocolate and ice-cream are also two of my biggest saviours.

Can you think of one example that demonstrates how growing up Asian in Australia has impacted you?

M: When growing up Asian Australian, you experience a lot of judgement and shame; whether that’s at school, at the doctors, the hairdressers or the local grocery store. I remember once having to explain to my GP what a chapatti was, and secretly wishing my family ate more ‘normal’ food!

These experiences have shaped why I now work in youth services. It's essentially to ensure that fewer young people feel judged or ashamed when explaining their life stories and experiences. It's important to me to be a friendly face for any young person that I meet or work with. I also think that it's important that I'm a person that makes an effort to pronounce their name correctly, or to be empathetic of their concerns around racism, and mostly, to be non-judgemental when they share stories of their childhood. 

V: An example that comes to mind is in the work context. In particular, some of the cultural values Asian Australians may be brought up with may initially seem like limiting factors in corporate Australia.

In several organisations, I’ve been encouraged to be more outspoken and assertive at all times. Some experiences made me feel like I needed to ‘unlearn’ some of the values I adopted growing up, such as blind respect for authority figures, that hard work (alone) will help you succeed or that you should be grateful for any opportunity or work you’re given.

What I’ve realised now, is that rather than ‘unlearning’ these values, I’m well-placed to balance elements from both Western and Eastern cultures in the workplace.

Instead of feeling self-conscious and overthinking whether my style of working matches other people’s expectations, I’m focusing on trusting myself, being assertive in my own way and finding a good fit with the work environment that allows different and authentic ways of working.

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The three of us have so many exciting things planned for next year to support yours and our community's mental health and wellbeing.

Make sure you don't miss anything by connecting with us either on Instagram or via the Shapes and Sounds Club waiting list below!