Emily Week #1 - The Reflection in the Mirror

 

From my childhood, all I remember is going to my white best friend’s house and his grandma feeding me mac n cheese and McDonald’s, the true American dream. But that wasn’t all I was.

I remember one day during 6th grade, I looked into the mirror and stared at my reflection; I was confused “Why did I look like that?” It is not like I grew up bullied or outcast for my race but I was so disconnected from my culture that I simply didn’t understand what made up the reflection in the mirror. 

The only time I would celebrate my Chinese heritage was during Chinese New Year but as the years passed my family stopped celebrating it as fully as before. The festivities went from New Year’s dinner, making and eating dumplings together as a family while watching the Chinese New Year's spring festival to just eating dumplings my mom made by herself. Despite the lack of influence from my parents to teach me the ways of the Chinese, I never grew to hate my culture; although I was a little too indifferent about it. I was just Chinese. 

The word meant nothing to me until I got enrolled in my Saturday Chinese classes. In those classes, the teachers taught you not only how to use the Chinese language but also how the culture works, making sure to have activities that required you to ask your parents more questions about your heritage and to share it with the class. Through those lessons, I learned more about my background and other ABCs’ heritages. I started looking forward to coming to class and talking about my culture. As the years passed I slowly rooted myself into the identity. And by graduation, I could look in the mirror and proudly say that I am Chinese. 


* ABC stands for American Born Chinese 

Comments

  1. JaydenSeptember 4, 2023 at 7:27 PM

    Hi Emily! It's funny how all you remembered from your childhood was just you eating mac n cheese and MacDonalds. I could not relate to that because the first time I ate the Kraft brand for mac & cheese was in maybe 8th grade? You could basically say that I was not living the American dream. When you looked into the mirror, what confused you? Was it skin color, height, eyes, etc. You said the only time you would celebrate your Chinese heritage was when you celebrated Chinese New Year. Did you ever celebrate Mid-Autumn festival or Lantern festival? Anyways, it's great that you are looking forward to coming to class and talking about your culture, and proudly acknowledging yourself as Chinese.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bill WangSeptember 5, 2023 at 10:50 PM

    Hi Emily! I really like your description of mac & cheese and McDonald's as the "American Dream". It provides some comedy, and establishes a casual tone for the rest of the paragraph, making it straightforward and easy to read. When I was in elementary school, I had a similar situation. I knew that I was Chinese, but I had never really cared about what being Chinese actually was. However, over time, my appreciation for my culture grew. I think that it is great how you learned about your heritage through Chinese class.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jayden Szeto - Week 3 - Nature and Identity

Image
One of the most unexpected places for me to find my identity was in nature. Throughout my entire life, I have always thought of myself as the person who doesn’t go out much, stays home and watches movies or plays video games. Which I was. I mean, my mother signed me up for sports like tennis, basketball, badminton, and golf ever since I was little, but I still didn’t really like the outdoors. However, as I grew older, I started to WANT to play sports and go outside more than I had previously (which still isn’t saying much because I did not really go out much before). I would go hiking with friends on Mission Peak and walking around Coyote Hills, take quiet walks at the park after school with my mom, and go outside the house and feed the stray neighborhood cats. Neighborhood Cat Another cat During the challenging yet exhilarating hikes on Mission Peak, I would talk with my friends about life. Me tripping every now and then but then getting up reminded me of who I was; someone who would
Read more

Liya Abil- Week 5- Land of the Free

Image
I often complain about the country we live in because of the lack of its own culture, the expenses of health care and education, and the fact that most Americans think they are superior to other countries. However, being born in India, I often wonder about how my life would have been if my family never moved to America, which I think would have been worse. This reminds me of all the good aspects of America that I take for granted.  In India, the only career options that are socially acceptable are becoming a doctor, engineer, or lawyer, none of which sparks any interest in me. My parents were pressured by these societal expectations and they both ended up being engineers, something my mom regrets to this day. If I lived in India, I would have suffered the same fate and lived a life doing a job that I dread.  When we came to America, my parents decided that they would let me do anything I wanted, as long as I put in my best effort. Right now, I have no idea what I want to do later in li
Read more

Liya Abil- Week 8- Approaching the Holidays

Image
I love the holidays. I especially love how much America cares about the holidays. The moment December begins, houses are decorated and lit up, stores are overflowing with holiday decor, and Christmas trees are put up in every mall. These small acts are able to spread happiness and the holiday spirit.  The effort that people put into making the holidays feel magical is able to connect everyone. They are able to bring people together: Older siblings come home from college to celebrate with their families. Friends go out to ice skate or stay in and exchange presents. Communities join together in order to watch their city’s tree being lit.  The main holidays celebrated in America during this time are Christmas, Hanukkah, and a few others that come from different religions and cultures. We are so lucky and advantaged to live in an inclusive country with religious freedom as all of these occasions can be celebrated together. Despite celebrating different things, simply the holiday spirit can
Read more