My Chinese Identity

My cultural identity, as I know is Mexican American because both my parents are born in Mexico and I was born here. I can also be defined as a Chicana because that is another way used to call a Mexican American. My culture can be seen in so many different ways like for example it can be seen in food, music, religion, dance, art, festivals, and even more. Most of these traditions have changed a little bit over time as they were brought to the U.S. What I mean by that is that some of those traditions were brought from Mexico, and had a little change into them because they were combined with some traditions that have already been here in the U.S.

What is my cultural identity? Personally, I don’t think I am completely assured on what my cultural identity is, but I can do my best on explaining it. However, I won’t get started on that yet, first I’ll explain the occasion of me learning about my identity. At almost the beginning of the year, it was announced in our English class that we would be doing an essay on our cultural identities. When my teacher announced this I thought to myself, “What in the world is a cultural identity, or even my cultural identity?” In these months, we have gotten to learn the definition of culture, and what it means to us, individually., I believe that culture means a group of people that share the same customs, way of life, and beliefs. Also, over these last couple of months we have been reading texts all about people knowing and understanding their cultural identities, meanwhile I still didn’t understand my own. All I know is that I was born on February 11, 2002, I like movies and music, and my mom is from Chile and my Dad is from Virginia. Now that didn’t feel like enough for me to write on, but then I started thinking about all of the cultural differences that my parents have had raising me as a person, and how those have all combined to make me. In my short 15 years of life, the culture clashes have sometimes affected me on my thoughts and opinions, which I’ll talk about later on. As well as how movies and music have affected my perspectives and opinions.

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)

Who I’m I? that’s the question I would always ask myself. My whole life my parents would say your Hispanic an when people ask me what are you? I would say I’m Hispanic whom my parents told me I’m.

Fae Myenne Ng is a contemporary Chinese-American author who is known for her first written novel, Bone. Her debut novel was published in 1993 and the story is told through the eyes of the main character, Leila Leong. Leila tells the story of her family’s history and the events that unfold following the suicide of her sister. As Leila’s story progresses, themes of identity and family life are revealed. Leila and her two sisters border the line between American and Chinese, two distinct cultures that belong to very different worlds. The sisters deal with the struggles of assimilation as they grow up in the seclusive community of Chinatown only to live in an American world. The family life of the Leong

I am an Asian-American woman living and working in the global city of New York. Growing up in an international city allowed me to become a multicultural individual and develop into a young woman different from my counterparts in Asia and here in the United States as well. I was taught by my parents not only the values of a Chinese culture but also to strive to enhance my strengths and to go forth and establish a successful career in business while always relating back to my Chinese roots. These values of diligence, perseverance and selflessness influence my everyday work and personal life.

On the first day, I struck up a conversation with a Chinese girl in my global history class who was born in America, spoke fluent Mandarin, and had vast knowledge of her culture. She talked about her admiration for K-pop and favorite Asian foods, which I had never heard of until that day. I was filled with awe and shock, faced with my meager knowledge of my own culture. I was so deeply integrated in American culture that I had lost touch with my roots. However, the last four years at Flushing High School have allowed me to learn more about where I came from, and have formed who I am as a

I interviewed a girl from the northeastern part of China who came to America to pursue her education, her name is Ruyi Shen, as you can guess there are many differences from China and America, before she came to America she lived in an apartment block with her parents but in China this is a normal occurrence considering most of the people in China live in apartments. She is an only child, because the child laws were not changed till after she was born, which now they can own two kids. She is expected to get good grades, respect her elders (grandparent, elderly people, etc.), and was to go to university from a young age. When she came to America she had to become her own person because students in China wear the same clothes as each other and

Since I was a child, I would hear the story about how my parents were forced to flee from their country due to the Vietnam War. They were always open about their struggles assimilating into the American culture, and in order to minimize the cultural shock for my siblings and I, they chose to live in a Vietnamese enclave in Orange County. As a first-generation Chinese-American, I had the privilege to be part of a family decorated with a multitude of Chinese-Vietnamese traditions and celebrations. It was when I began to attend high school that I realized that I was a minority and with that label came bias among my peers. As I began to feel that I had mastered the challenges of high school, college began to loom ahead of me. It was then I saw how the advantages my affluent peers had could make a huge difference in one’s future. Even though neither of my parents obtained a college degree, they always encouraged my siblings and I to pursue higher education. Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, it was up to us to figure out how to make our dream come true. Being awarded the Mithun Scholarship for academic excellence was one of the many tools I would use to overcome this barrier. College gave me the opportunity to better learn how to budget, time manage, and be self-sufficient. My drive and work ethic gave me the invaluable opportunity to pursue a college degree.

I remember a few years ago while filling out a form that asked about my parents’ level of education, I marked “Some high school.” The girl next to me looked over and scoffed, making my face flush red. Their insistence that I make consistently perfect grades and someday become a doctor further fueled my resentment. According to them, intelligent Chinese people know that the key to happiness (and also success) lies in the medical field. Their arguments became all about upholding the Chinese image. What did they know about success though? They never achieved it. Who cares that I look Chinese? It only matters that I am an American, born and raised unlike them. However, I eventually came around to understanding my parents’

It took me years before I was able to fit in to this society completely; however, unlike other young first generation immigrants, I still held on to my Chinese background. I spoke Chinese at home and stayed in contact with families and friends from China. I was like any other Chinese teenagers. I listened to Chinese music, read Chinese books, and watched Chinese movies. I also enjoyed eating home cooked Chinese dishes. I was also like any other American teenagers. I listened to western music, read English books, and watched American movies. At school, I ate hamburgers and fries and at restaurants, I ordered pastas and

After countless tries by my ancestors to establish a life in the United States it seemed destiny had a place for me. Come to think of it, may it wasn’t destiny calling my family to cross the border, rather our native land was calling us home. Still how colonized have I become to accept my new identity. In the novel, Cruz comments that Esperanza changed her son’s name from Robert to Bobby. (Loc. 215) “Call him Bobby. In America, he’s Bobby, Esperanza said” (Cruz). My parents didn’t assimilate that quickly. My full name is Socorro Martinez, and I’m the youngest of eight children. My father came to this country during the Bracer Act Program, after it was terminated in 1964 he worked in construction. My mother followed six years later with three children, after losing her daughter to an illness. I was named after my mother but was given the nick name Suki. Growing up no one called by my first name. I built an identity based on my nick name, and slowly my cultural identity was diminishing.

Food is something that is not inherited, it is learned, much like culture. When I was about three years old, my parents moved from Argentina to America. Since all we knew was Spanish, we found ourselves associating with many other Hispanics. One thing that I find all these cultures have in common is food. Food is something that ties us all to our roots, to our families, to our heritage, to our culture. Argentina, Mexico, and America, my take on food shows my family’s migrations and changes, it is who I am and will become, it is my cultural identity.

With my dad being Caucasian, and my mom Chinese, I was fortunate enough to experience two completely different cultures at a young age. Even though I reside in California, where diversity is a natural occurrence, I still believed that some people sought to place counterfeit stereotypes on ethnic groups. Many of the stereotypes placed on Chinese people has to do with the fact that we are strict, especially parents. In spite of that impression, I wasn’t raised with strict parents. They both wanted me to choose my own path in life, and explore my different interests. However, a lot of my classmates, who are of asian descent, were not given the same kind of opportunities that I had. For an English presentation that we had to do about the meaning

Ancient Greeks and Chinese are both responsible for the way billions of people believe in traditions. These civilizations were built around different regions with different ancestors. In some parts thought they tend to have some similarities. One example would be that both developed into empires. They are both home to many great inventors like artists, astrologers, philosophers and mathematicians.