What happens when the very culture that kept you alive starts to hold you back? In this episode of First Gen Fridays, I sit down with Jasmine Ruiz, actress, comedian, cycle breaker, and self-proclaimed pivot queen. Jasmine grew up in the South Bronx, she became the first in her immediate family to graduate college, landing at Barnard before a 7-year stint in corporate retail at Macy's. She unpacks what it really means to be a Puerto Rican of the NYC diaspora, what gets lost when culture is stripped from you on purpose, and the reckoning that comes when education changes you in ways your family didn't sign up for.We talk about code switching, leaving corporate America, the loneliness of being the first, decolonizing your relationship with work, and why being 100% delusional might actually be the key to walking into any room like you belong there.

Timestamps

01:20 Being Puerto Rican without the "typical" immigrant story

03:30 Losing culture in the diaspora and reclaiming it intentionally

08:39 Becoming the first to graduate college and go corporate

10:03 Seven years at Macy's and why she walked away

14:06 Going viral during the pandemic and the pivot out of 9-to-5

28:14 Culture shock at Barnard: when survival mode meets a new world

30:09 Code switching, hierarchy, and refusing to wash yourself down

34:45 How education created a rift with family

38:52 The loneliness of the first-gen journey

49:03 Rest as resistance: decolonizing the hustle

50:18 Advice for first-gens feeling the pressure to succeedThis one is for every first-gen who's ever felt like a stranger at home after growing into themselves.

Connect with Jasmine:

Instagram: @thejasmineruiz @moments.coffee.nycTikTok:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmineruiz21/

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