Journal of My Two Live

It is because I was in the same position as many Chinese American students are in today that I am able to relate and lead them on the same level. I was able to overcome the obstacle of being different from my peers, and instead of dwelling on the past or obstacles, I was able to use it to my advantage and embrace it. I have overcome the most important problem most students deal with: identity, and now that I have overcame that, I can tackle more future problems that come my

In her essay “My Two Lives,” Jhumpa Lahiri, an Indian American, explains the balance between the identities of the two countries inside her heart, as well as her psychological struggle between her bicultural identities. She describes herself as an Indian-American because she moved with her family from India to the United States when she was very young. However, confused with her identity through her growth, she feels that she doesn’t belong to either of the two countries because of its completely different cultures. When she is at home, she deals with her parents in an Indian way, which is strange compared to the American way that she come across outside. She says that she has a distinctive identity in spite of her Indian appearance

In the story “The Trouble with Talent: Are We Born Smart or Do We Get Smart?” by Kathy Seal explains the difference between Asian children and American children’s work ethic. Kathy explains the school systems in china work differently due to the fact that America has the idea that children are born with a set I.Q. while Asians believe that your intelligence is determined by hard work. The author of this story’s purpose is to persuade the reader by proving her thesis that intelligence is gained through hard work. She does this by using a multitude of valid evidence, having a strong thesis, and connecting with the reader though reader oriented language. The pattern of this essay is clearly a compare and contrast because the author looks at the difference between how Asian and American children are taught. She makes a strong point using the compare and contrast method by providing the reader with valid information on the American and Asian sides to point out that being smart happens though hard work and determination. Seal organizes this compare and contrast by making a point to point analysis of Asian and American culture.

“Twelve white men say a black man must die, and another white man sets the date and time without consulting one black person. Justice?” (Gains 157).

The reason immigrant children have such far-reaching success is in large part due to our awareness. There is not a day that passes that I don’t see the effects of cultural poverty and lack of women’s education. My passion for success stems from my 1st generation immigrant upbringing.

Seven years earlier, I migrated to Hawaii when I was twenty-three. I had flown away from my mother and my life in the Philippines. Like young adults and being rebellious, I wanted to live on my own away from my mother 's roof. I left the city life I grew up with in the Philippines in hope of a better life in another country.

A person has always been able to choose to what extent their cultural experiences affect their perspective. Amy Tan’s, “Two Kinds,” Bharati Mukherjee’s, “Two Ways to Belong in America,” and Robert Lake’s, “An Indian Father’s Plea,” all show how the main characters have chosen to let their experiences have an effect on their cultural identity. A person’s cultural experiences shape perception based on their own identifications and they may chose to assimilate to different cultures.

But it isn't Asian "culture" or any other attribute of ethnicity that is responsible for this success. Instead, it's a unique form of privilege that is grounded in the socioeconomic origins of some -- not all -- Asian immigrant groups. Understanding this privilege offers insights into how we can help children from all backgrounds succeed.

“American Dreamer” by Bharati Mukherjee scrutinizes the problems involved with culture fusion and identity. Within the essay, Mukherjee provides her story of traveling to the United States to expose America’s problem with the fusion of other cultures. Fusion, according to Mukherjee, stands as the idea of multiple cultures uniting together within the context of a country under one supreme set of ideals regardless of previous beliefs and cultural influences. However, both resident countries and immigrants struggle to coexist with their conflicting societal influences. The refusal to accept cultural differences provokes division within society.

As the United State is becoming more of a diverse country, cultural adaptation is becoming the norm, as well as, bicultural identity. “Culture change has traditionally referred to the modifications, revisions, and new manners of expression that result from the process of interaction between cultures.” Robbins,Chatterjee and Canda, (2012) (pg.135). When any culture, individual has embedded within a community that assimilates the heritage receiving the culture biculturalism likely to emerge.

In your life, you will face turning points that can be difficult or not. “Warriors Don’t Cry, from Melba Patillo Beals that was the first black person to transfer to a white school, or I Never Had it Made, from Jackie Robinson that was the first black person in the major leagues, and lastly, The Father of Chinese Aviation, from Feng Ru that was one of the first Chinese man to build an airplane that flies, are all stories that the authors faced obstacles and impacted our country. As you can tell, Melba Beals, Jackie Robinson, and Feng Ru all faced life-changing experiences that have impacted our country.

Eric Liu’s parents clearly saw opportunity in America to freely move away from a place that they were comfortable in and try to make a living in the United States. They were able to pursue higher education to thrive in America. Even more intriguing though is Eric Liu’s story. His parents were educated, and gave him a great foundation to grow, but it still does not change the fact that he knows he could have been born into hardships without the chance to make an impact on society. With this lingering thought, Liu decided to use

“Two Ways to Belong in America” is an essay written by Bharati Mukherjee and is about two sisters who have very different experiences living in America as immigrants. According to the author, to two ways immigrants can belong in America is to become a legal immigrant like her sister Mira, or to become a US citizen. Mukherjee states that she “celebrates” the word “mongrelization” when people apply it to her books in order to emphasize the cultural fusion between her book and the people who read them. The speaker states that her sister Mira feels “used” from America because for 30 years she spent her life being a productive member of american society by being a preschool teacher, obeying our laws, and paying her taxes for her employer to ultimately

Two hundred forty-one years. In that small amount of time America forged its self into a vast landscape of different cultures. A combination of numerous cultures mongrelized together to form “We the people” in America today. Due to all the mixing in the pot, an uncertainty about the countries identity arose. For all the beauty that the melting pot brought, it also created a darker side, as aspects of each cultures fought for superiority in the nation. This fight emerges throughout American history and as a new era of deporis rises, the issues are becoming more relevant. In American Dreamer by Bharati Mukherjee, she shares her own experiences as an immigrant and the fight she partook in to have her own American identity seen. Mukherjee’s fight mirrors hundreds of naturalized American citizens who are trying to realize their identity, however it also shines light on native-born Americas struggling as well. The need for a unified American identity produces a nationwide identity crisis.

I was born and raised into a hardworking family that are the complete opposite of culture alienators. My siblings and I are all first generation in America on my mom's side and second generation on my dad's side. Life was very hard for my parents to raise all seven of us and depended on my grandparents for most of their help. Being that my grandparents brought all nine of their kids to America from Belize it was also very hard for them so survive and find stability. Most families that come to America from a third world country usually find it very difficult to keep up family traditions and sometimes lose all contact. My family found a way to stay very close and keep the Belizean culture very alive still to this day. As you can tell by now