Personal Narrative: Myself As A Vietnamese Student

The Garden of Diversity: How “The Flowers” helped me understand my own experience. ​The words immortalized in Alice Walker’s short story “The Flowers” resonated with me in a profound manner. Myop’s adventure from the property that her family shares to the woods is one that she has embarked upon many times before. This time even though she doesn’t realize it, everything will be different. Walker’s character may not understand the consequences that come with the encounter with the lynched black man, the thought that crosses my mind while reading this is that although she has no idea of what awaits her in the future, of the cruelty and injustice that unfortunately runs rampant in today’s society, she can still find a place to be proud and hopeful of who she is.

Colorful origami paper cranes greeted me as I opened my eyes. It seemed to already be midday, and I wondered if I was late for school, until I realized that in Japan the sun rose much earlier than in America. After my mother checked that we didn’t forget anything, my two sisters and I were out the door. Yet being prepared did nothing to hide my bubbling anxiety for my first day of sixth grade in a foreign country. What were other kids going to think of us?

Slowly, dreadfully, I tried to buy time by making a scene on the my first day of kindergarten. For 30 minutes, I grabbed onto my mom’s blouse until the teacher separated us; the action that created a barrier between society and me. Usually, my days preceded with sleeping in, and then spending the rest of it at my grandparents’ house, instead I was now glued to a chair, where everyone was watching me with judgemental eyes. As my American teacher introduced me to the class, I felt everyone’s eyes upon me; I knew minimal English because the main language spoken at home was vietnamese and my preschool consisted of chinese speaking teachers.

As a child of a Vietnamese immigrant , the stories and the past memories that are brought up by my mother, gives me an understanding of how hard it is to leave your mother country and how sometimes you must do what’s best for yourself. There are times when i think to myself and wonder how it would have been like if my mother had not immigrated to the states, I probably would not be here today, or if i was that i would not have been born and raised in the United States. Being a child of an immigrant is not difficult, it does not put me in a disadvantage either , but it instead spreads the message of how it is okay to be different and how it is okay to take risks that will benefit you in the following years. All these messages and lessons have

As an Asian American, I frequently get questioned about what kind of Asian I am. When I answer, I get mixed results. Most people who ask me that question like to assume that that I am Japanese or Korean since I love anime and listen to Korean pop. However, I am a Chinese American and I am proud of it. Since I have a Chinese background, I like to express to others about my culture.

I transferred to Pace two and a half years ago. Before, I was enrolled Caldwell College in New Jersey. The school was mostly populated with typical Caucasian students and a low ratio of African-American students; therefore there was not much diversity. I am an individual that enjoys learning about other cultures and traditions. At Caldwell, I did not feel any type of disrespect towards my race/culture like Jessie.

Moreover, as part of the Asian immigrant Students Discourse community, my personal experience isn’t great either when I first arrived in the United States. Indeed has become the main reason that I want to choose this particular topic about Asian immigrant Students right. I remember back in the middle school days, all the students wasn’t allow go to any classroom during the break, otherwise if any student caught by the security; they may get the detention from the Principal. One day, as usual after I finished my lunch, I sit the quad and talk my friends; basically the quad is the only place you could really stay in the school during the lunchtime. In addition, as the lunch break fly by, the class has already started.

When Asian came to America— a place where full of unfamiliar faces, speak different language, have different belief and culture, how would they respond and adapt to these changes? This essay investigates on Asian American experience in terms of culture, racial discrimination, culture assimilation and collision, and lost of identity through diverse motions in four Asian American poems- “Eating Alone”, “Eating Together”, and “Persimmons” by Li-Young Lee, and “The Lost Sister” by Cathy Song. From the motions or movement in the poems, we can further look into their life and feeling of being an Asian American. In “Eating Alone” and “Eating Together”, speaker would like to express his yearning towards his death father and convey the hierarchy of

Dr. Guzman, When I heard about UCARE program at UNL, I was very intrigued with the idea of getting to explore, learn, and experience something new, especially getting to journey with a mentor/faculty. Then, when I found this research on parenting experiences of Asian Americans, immediately I knew I wanted to be a part of it. I am Asian myself, therefore, I would like to learn more about my culture and ways in which parenting styles are affecting society. When it comes to family and cultural aspects, I get very excited about obtaining knowledge and understanding toward my own identity. I am currently involved with the youth at a Vietnamese parish.

Growing up I was embarrassed about letting people know that I was born in Vietnam. Although my family immigrated to America when I was barely one year old, I did not let anyone know including my best friends. In my community, there was a stigma against Vietnamese Americans that were not born in America. I remember seeing my peers tease Vietnamese kids that could not speak English properly or how they are so “old fashioned”. Of course, I avoided associating with this, so I pretended to be someone I am not by ignoring my Vietnamese heritage.