Personal Narrative: I Am Vietnamese

As a proud second generation Vietnamese American, I proudly associate myself with my Catholic Vietnamese community. Like all members in my group, we are indoctrinated with the typical immigrant values of perseverance, freedom, and respect for others and our cultural identity. The church that binds us together, Our Lady of Lavang, is the center where most of the Catholic Vietnamese Community gathers all over West Michigan. Since the 1st grade, I went through the Church's school program every Sunday to learn about Christian moral values, Vietnamese traditions, and language. These lessons has heavily influenced my outlook on life, enabling me to use faith to build confidence with myself, maintain integrity, and to love and respect every individual.

I am Canadian I am Canadian! I live in a house not an igloo. I drive a car not a dog sled or ski doo.

One time, I was taken aback and saddened by a patient yelling a plea to God as she was suffering through tremendous pain. As I walked into the room, the first thing this patient did was stop yelling and attempt to put on a calm face. It was a sobering moment, but I proceeded to ask her if I could do anything to help. What struck me most about this moment, was how much fight this lady could conjure up to hide her pain and yet still remain compassionate towards me. I hadn't expected anything, but this experience was a brilliant reminder of why I wanted so badly to improve the conditions of patients across the medical spectrum. I couldn't fathom the extent of this patient's pain, but I could fathom the idea of pain itself. In the patient, I saw a little bit of myself. I wanted to help this patient greatly and desired the means to do so. In this patient, I saw the nature of humanity. Human beings, for the most part, are inherently good and strive to be selfless even at their weakest moments. In fact, most people I know tend to be more worried about others than themselves, whether it be from a positive or negative perspective. As I got to know this patient, I realized how much she wanted to be with her family and see her grandchildren grow up. Though she was aware of the pain and suffering, she was also aware of what could be once she got through this struggle. Once I become a medical doctor, I can give back

I’m Vietnamese, but I cannot speak the language. Both of my grandparents are immigrants who came to Vietnam after the war. My dad was born in Vietnam and my mother was born in Louisiana. All of them speaks fluent Vietnamese, but only my mother speaks English. Growing up, it became harder and harder for me to communicate with my family in a sense that they did not know what I was saying and vice versa. Granted, I went to a Vietnamese school when I was younger but later dropped out once my family became busy with life.

Family is supposed to listen to you when you're in need. Family is supposed to have your back. Family is supposed to be loyal. Family is supposed to be dependable. Family is supposed to accept you at your worst and best moments. Family is supposed to make you laugh and smile. Family is the number one unconditional love that everyone has. Whether it be the unconditional love from immediate family members or close friends, everyone has that one person they go to in times of need. It’s funny how those closest to you can hurt you the most.

Unfortunately, Vietnamese Americans make up only a small percent of the total American Population today. There are many stereotypes associated with the Vietnamese, but the truth is, we really know very little about their culture. After the Viet Nam War, many Vietnamese citizens immigrated to the United States to escape political Prosecution and poverty. Faced with a variety of obstacles and

An unknown author once said, "Families are like fudge—mostly sweet with a few nuts. My family is the most important aspect to my life. No matter how much they sometimes pester or annoy me I still love them. I do not think people can live through life without the support of family. My family mostly supports me throughout all my actions, and they make me laugh. I do not really think I resemble either my mom or dad. They both had very difficult lives growing up, and I do not think I will ever experience that. Before there was me, there were my parents whose struggle against communism led them to the United States to find the life they deserved.

I am a girl with two heads. At home, I wear my Chinese head, in school I wear my English head. Being an Asian, or Chinese, as it is commonly referred to, my culture plays a key role in the development of who I am and what I do, my personal identity. An identity is the distinguishing character or personality of an individual. Parents are often one of the key factors of this culturally developed personal identity.

I am 1/128th Cherokee I have my CDBI card and receive all my native benefits. I discovered that I also have French in my blood line. So I call myself a French Indian. I am not sure where my family came from I was unable to locate some of the family history, but I am not giving up on tracing my family tree. I know that I have Choctaw blood line as well, my mother and I are tracing that back as well. All of my Indian blood line comes from my mother’s side of the family. I am not sure what blood line my father has, I just haven’t had the desire to look that side of my family up and do the

I am an Asian-American who will be the first in my family to go to a prestigious college such as UT Austin. I am also a swimmer and that has taught me many great traits such as time management and work ethic, of which I have transferred into my education. As the first-born in my family, continuing my education is a necessity for my parents, and thus they have pushed me to take challenging courses such as AP Chemistry. I moved to Texas during the summer of my sophmore year, and thus was thursted into a brand new enviroment, but thanks to swimming I adapted and was able to excel in both academics and extracurricular activities.

Furthermore, I learned how to meet deadlines under pressure while building and maintaining an interpersonal relationship within the team. My work at the lab taught me how to be flexible and solve problems in order to achieve the best solutions to a variety of different tasks. Although I have conducted my preliminary research on the impact of marijuana exposure on brain maturation, I am interested in further expanding my knowledge into clinical research as I plan on applying to medical school in the

I’ve heard this question countless times, and I used to dismiss it easily with lighthearted laughter. As I matured, however, I found it increasingly difficult to procure an appropriate reply. This inquiry was intended as an offhanded curiosity, but -- to me -- it meant so much more. For years, I debated the correct response to this question; for a while, I was unsure of my ethnicity.

Durian fruit. When people ask me how I feel about my Vietnamese culture, the first thing that comes to mind is durian fruit. Unlike the strawberries or cherries found at Safeway, durian fruit at first glance does not even look edible. The entire fruit resembles a dirty old football, except that durian weighs nearly three pounds. One-inch spikes and a tough brown outer peel cover the fruit, giving it an intimidating look. Inside, yellow, kidney-shaped pieces line the peel like orange slices. As a child, I hated durian. I refused to even taste it. Later on, when I was older, my mother bribed me with two dollars to try the meaty flesh. I fell in love with the fruit instantly. Its heavenly aroma tantalized

As I open the door and step into my house, a chilly autumn breeze rushes in and a strange mixture of pizza and soybean paste stew strikes my nose. I see my dad relaxing on the living room couch with the Samsung television set to a Korean news channel while my sister is listening to Beyonce on her new Iphone. In the corner stands a bookshelf piled with various books ranging from US history to Korean comics.

It is not easy to define culture because culture is too broad a concept, can be both abstract and specific. However, what is agreed is culture covers all faces of our life as well as direct the way we behave, interact and communicate. (Liu et al., 2011). One popular definition is that “Culture is the total way of life of a group of people, comprising of the deposit of knowledge, experience, belief, values, traditions, religion, and notion of time, roles, spatial relations, worldviews, material objects and geographic territory”. (Liu et al., 2011, p.57). In this essay, I will analyse components and characteristics of culture, and based on that grounds, I will reflect on my own culture-being a Vietnamese. Dodd (1998) considered that culture is made up by three layers which consist of the core layer, the intermediate layer and the outer layer. I will examine what values and beliefs are considered important in my culture. Those are components of the inner core. Then, I will take some examples of the intermediate layer (expression of cultural activities by manifestation) such as communication patterns, customs and festivals.