I'm the Grace Lee from Columbia, Missouri, now residing in Los Angeles, with stops in Seoul, New York, and San Francisco in between.

Growing up in Missouri in the 1970s and 80s, I was the only Grace Lee I knew; in fact, I was usually the only Asian girl around. All this changed when I left for New York, and later California, where I would meet people who would insist on telling me about "another Grace Lee" they once knew.

I talked to these people who knew my namesakes and learned that they assumed that all Grace Lees were reserved, dutiful, piano-playing bookworms. Why was that? Are all Asian-American women perceived as such? And what's in a name?

I wanted to understand the Asian-American female identity and so I plunged into a highly unscientific investigation into the lives of all Grace Lees who break the mould, just like I did. I was happy to discover a Grace Lee who was a fiery social activist as well as a Grace Lee who tried to burn down her high school!

During the making of The Grace Lee Project, my best hopes and worst fears were confirmed and there were many surprises along the way. Despite the differences in our ages and experiences and where we came from, it quickly became clear to me that there was a genuine sense of community among those of us interested in discovering our Grace Lee-ness (or lack thereof).

I learned what makes each of the Grace Lees that I met unique and what binds us all together. It was an incredibly enjoyable journey of self discovery and community-building.