Chinese American Struggles

Coming from a Mexican immigrant family I have learned to recognize since a very young age that because of the status that my parents are placed in they cannot pursue a better future like the one I want. I have been given the opportunity to challenge myself with obtaining a higher education than just high school itself. My parents have demonstrated to me through their hard work that I have to value this opportunity unless I want to end up with low paying job. My life long dedication comes from seeing my parents make sacrifices in order for my education to continue.

Education, or the lack thereof, has always been something that plagued my immediate family. I come from a background of immigrant parents—hard-working, yet unable to acquire academic achievements. My father did not graduate out of high school in Vietnam because he was drafted into the Vietnam War and escaped as a refugee thereafter. My mother, on the other hand, graduated from high school but was not able to pursue higher education due to the burdens she had working and raising me as a child.

Many new arrivals still struggle to survive and often Chinese Americans still encounter suspicion and hostility. Chinese Americans have achieved great success and now, like so many others, they are stitching together a new American identity. As Michelle Ling, a young Chinese American, tells Bill Moyers in Program 3, “I get to compose my life one piece at a time, however I feel like it. Not to say that it’s not difficult and that there isn’t challenge all the time, but more than material wealth, you get to choose what you are, who you are.” (www.pbs.org)

Being a first generation college student is a heavy load to carry due to the constant reminder of having to be a good role model for my siblings. Children of immigrants are often highly expected to excel in their academics and to be involved in extracurricular activities. His/her parent immigrated to the “Land of The Free” in order to receive a better life and to give their children a place to call home. They work from one to two jobs a week just so that we can dig through the pantry, and raid the refrigerator. We sometimes take our parents for granted unknowingly, and constantly fill our heads with a question that we all seem to ask. “How do I please my parents?”, “What do I have to do to make them happy?”. As students we should all be voicing “College!”. Yes, maybe our folks’s dreams have faded away, however that should be our motivation to aim higher; to achieve our American Dream. Throughout our years of education, our very own relatives and teachers have emphasized on the importance of receiving a higher education. I have come to realize that I should not be asking myself “How do I please my parents?”. Instead, “How do I please myself?”, “What will my lifetime goals be?”, “Will it leave my parents hard work in vain?”. Obtaining a higher education will not impact their lives, but will affect yours drastically. My American Dream has always been to become an immigration lawyer that deals with international relations or to become a professor teaching my true passion for

Living in America is often taken for granted, but many would risk their lives just to live in this free country. My parents risked their lives escaping from Laos after the Vietnam War in order to reach America hoping for a better life. My dad’s struggles in life has inspired me to pursue higher education in order to create a brighter future for myself. Being the first generation children born in America has given me the opportunity of free education. In America education

Day in and day out many immigrants enter the United States of America in search of greener pastures. This greener pasture includes higher educational prospects and lucrative jobs. However, life usually does not turn out as many of them usually anticipate. The expectation they usually have prior to their entry to the United States is partly due to the all rosary and nice things they hear about America. They hear such nice things from the media and also from diaspora’s who return from America to their homeland who usually don’t share their entire experiences with them. There have been quite a number of reports and research findings that outline the various challenges that are faced by immigrants in America. I personally share some of these issues as an international student in a foreign country. Prior to coming to Metropolitan State University, I had colleagues who told me about the school and their excellent environments that facilitate learning. Also other friends who were in America made me aware of the opportunity to work alongside schooling which made me more interested as I needed financial aid. With all these palatable information in mind, I did apply for the school and even though the tuition fee was quite expensive considering my socio economic background, I did apply having the mindset of working to meet up certain financial needs. Upon arrival in America, I realized that I was given a fraction of the entire picture. I wasn't allowed to work outside of campus,

It has been 40 years since these group of people has step foot in America, and today it is one of the fastest growing and successful minorities group. One of the keys to their success is their value in education. Though, the first generation of Vietnamese American

     The focus of our group project is on Chinese Americans. We studied various aspects of their lives and the preservation of their culture in America. The Chinese American population is continually growing. In fact, in 1990, they were the largest group of Asians in the United States (Min 58). But living in America and adjusting to a new way of life is not easy. Many Chinese Americans have faced and continue to face much conflict between their Chinese and American identities. But many times, as they adapt to this new life, they are also able to preserve their Chinese culture and identity through various ways. We studied these things through the viewing of a movie called Joy Luck Club,

I immigrated to America with my family five years ago and received an education that is impossible to gain in China. Some may not know this, but access to college is very competitive and one’s social status plays a significant role to China’s economy. Therefore, my parents made an very important decision, which was to leave my mother country and step in a foreign country that is America. Here, I am able to experience mountains of obstacles and learn how to solve these complex life cases.

When writing a novel, whether it is purposely or unconsciously, every author would create a theme that would help deliver out the message that they want to send out. Because novels are made of different situations and experiences, there can be many kinds of themes in it. However, there is usually a main theme that is consider as the most important theme since it is the main message that the author wants to send out to readers. Therefore, while readers can choose whichever one of themes as the most important theme depending on the question and the understanding of the novel, the main theme will still be the theme that leads the story from the beginning to the ending. In the graphic novel, American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang, the most important

Mr. Jerry Waxler one day decided to write about the lessons about memoirs he has gotten from reading them. He then came up with eight reasons to read a memoir. One of the reasons was “To share their story, authors overcome shame and privacy.” I liked that one because it tells about someone's story. I believe the most important reason to read memoirs is author's overcoming shame and privacy.

In American history, some of the worst acts of discrimination occurred against the Chinese. In mid-1850s, the China occurred problems about over-population, years of drought, floods, disase, and famine. In America, there was occurring the Gold Rush, agriculture and industry were developing, (and the construction of the transcontinental railway offered many possibilities for employment), that comes from Reading 2 (39). Thus, the large numbers of Chinese flocked to the United States. However, when the U.S. economy was slowing down, people competed severely to get a job. So, there occured discrimination that the Chinese were the victims of racism. In 1882, all Chinese immigrants were denied and the Chinese were suspended from immigration for ten

Recently, more and more Chinese immigrants have settled down in the United States. To have a better life, higher education, higher income and get more job opportunities, most people immigrate in California and New York. It is illegal for Chinese companies to sell Chinese child birth service for USA citizenship, and it makes Chinese consumers, who wants to purchase birth service, take risks breaking American laws regarding citizenship. In order to persuade pregnant females to give birth to their children abroad, some companies in China introduce the benefits of being an American citizen and offer opportunities. Companies give consumers solutions how to avoid being accused of illegal immigration as well. Then, birth tourism enters into the market,

My parents did not teach me that I was not like everyone else, that I could not attend college like everyone else. In my earlier years, I was unaware that there were differences among human beings. Of course our elementary education spoke to us about racism, yet no one clarified that in 2013 there would still be so much discrimination. Luckily, under the Obama administration undocumented students were granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Through obtaining this paperwork I was able to have a job as well as initiate my undergraduate degree. I do not take for granted what I have lived through, instead I use every opposition to build my character and strive more for what I

During America’s earliest years the British colonies were settled by a variety of European colonists who came to America in order to both escape political and religious persecution and find new opportunities to start anew. Although immigration was highly encouraged during the colonial era, as the vast majority of immigrants were white Protestants, immigrants were suddenly no longer welcome when foreigners of other countries began entering the United States during the late eighteenth century. Of these new immigrants, the Chinese were one of the first Asian people to immigrate to the United States. Their arrival was encouraged by the job opportunities that opened up by the Gold Rush of 1849, the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, and the civil war that surrounded China during the mid-nineteenth century. Of these new Chinese immigrants during nineteenth century, more than 90 percent lived through the Pacific coast, and more than two-thirds lived in California.