Personal Narrative: Living In China

Freshman year I had found a good group of friends that I felt comfortable around. I was building a lot of social confidence; I was determined to get that same confidence in the classroom. I had the mindset of putting my education before hanging out with friends. Speaking up in the classroom started to become more natural to me. I discovered I was good at mastering small details and became intrigued by specific topics like the creation of the United States Federal Reserve. Though I still am rarely the first to jump into a conversation in the classroom, I always look for opportunities to display the intellect I kept silent for so

Being a quiet person, I never said what’s in my mind, also being afraid of asking the wrong thing I always kept to myself. This was definitely a disadvantage for me. But knowing the person who I am I made sure to attend class, take notes, and pay attention

What is culture? Culture is the idea of what is wrong or right, the concept of what is acceptable within our society. Culture serves us as a guide, taking us to the "right way" and helping us to make sense of things that surrounds us. There are many different cultures around the world. A lot of them are similar in specific ways and others are just completely different, this difference explains why we think that people from different backgrounds are "weird".

When searching, ask locals questions about the safety of the neighborhoods and constantly check the local crime data with the police department. If you have children or plan to have a family, local public school districts and school ranking should be considered. Amenities in the area matter when searching for the perfect location such as the if the commuting time from work and other places is convenient for you.

Part 1: To be perfectly honest, I’ve never had a time where I have felt very isolated or very included in a school setting, well not a time that is particularly memorable. But, from talking to my friend, Caroline, she remembers her senior year of high school she was had a writing class and the majority kids in that class were the “cool/popular kids.” She recalls many instances where her teacher, Mrs. Upadhyay, would mock or make fun of the questions she would ask or the comments she would make in class. There was one instance where there were a group of popular boys in class and they were insanely chatty. Her teacher never asked them to stop talking but when Caroline turned to her partner to ask a question she was immediately called out. Another instance was when Mrs. Upadhyay was lecturing and a lightbulb went off in Caroline’s head. She thought she would say something that would really impress the class and help them understand the lecture. She raised her hand, when her teacher saw it instead of calling on her she chose to ignore her. Caroline thought it was okay though, she would wait until Mrs. Upadhyay was finished. Shortly there after, a popular boy raised his hand and she stopped her lecture to call on him. Caroline was completely appalled by this. She immediately cut off the

Even the most introverted students such as myself could overcome the anxiety of large class discussions by starting out with smaller groups. Coming into high school was extremely intimidating, especially since it seemed as if everyone already had their own friend groups from middle school. A whole class discussion meant too many people sharing their opinions.

Whenever I think about my time in elementary school and even in early middle school, I can't help but just smile, reflecting on how everything in my life appeared to be a perfect chain of events that resulted in who I am now. I remember always being told as a kid that I was shy and didn’t talk much. At first I wondered why I had such a lack of social skills and wondered why I had such a hard time expressing what I thought. While I personally believe I have overcome my shyness and have become a much more open and expressive person, I sill think back to what may have caused that awkward period of time.

Unlike many students, my first year of schooling was undertaken at home, rather than amongst my peers. My subsequent years of schooling were spent in a normal classroom environment; however, I often felt that this year at home, which was characterized by much less interaction with peers than I would have had if I was enrolled in traditional schooling, had left me at a social disadvantage, or slightly behind other children in terms of my level of socialization. I was much shyer than the other children who had already developed groups, friendships, who were much more adept at interacting amongst each other, and generally seemed more outgoing than myself. I often felt like an outsider, with feelings of self-consciousness and a lack of

Since I was young, my parents would tell their stories about escaping the nightmare of the war when the Northern Vietnamese communist forces invaded Laos. Both of my parents were born in Laos, which is a country located in southeastern Asia. During the Vietnam War and Laotian Civil War, or as many Hmong Americans call it, the ‘Secret War’, over 10,000 people died while fighting for their country.

China has a yin and yang that made the sky and the earth. China's myth says that there was a man and a woman that couldn't live without each other. Thus, the man made the earth for people to walk and the woman made the sky to have a day and night. The man and the woman were very intelligent and could make animals, plants and many more things. The woman could make day and night, rain, or sunshine. The woman had the power to make the weather change and to make people happy. The man had the power to make plants for the first humans, and to make mountains for the humans to live on. The first humans will need food, water and a place to live. The man and the woman work together to make the humans live well and help them become more intelligent.

My father, Bingxin Zhu, had been sick in bed for a long time and could not take care of himself. Suddenly, he was past away on January 1st, 2016. My mother, Hongqin Fu, is already 74 years old, always being sick and always live in hospital. I am the only child of my family, so I must went back to China as soon as possible and took care of my father’s funeral, cremated his body. I got my Refugee Travel Document on January 3rd and returned to China and went back to America on Feb. 16th 2016. Total 44 days.

In 1937 Japan committed one of the bloodiest battles in history. A three month process had overtaken both Shanghai and Nanking. Months prior to the actual massacre, Japan sent over 100 air raids into both Nanking and Shanghai to kill endless civilians before they had even arrived. This helped sweep out the land to create less survivors. Japan rounded up thousands of Chinese men, women, and children only to slaughter them mercilessly. Women in China would shave their heads to look like the men and the Chinese soldiers were forced into hiding. Everyone was a target in order for Japan to overthrow the Chinese government. Over the course of three months, 300,000 Chinese civilians were murdered in cold blood. The Japanese would disguise themselves

I was never a shy kid, but speaking up in class was always difficult for me. This was not because I feared judgment from my classmates; I was terrified of losing the hard-earned approval of my teachers. Adults hold a tremendous amount of power over the children in their care, and that fact was the bane of my existence for my entire elementary career. Ironically, my fear of authority would allow me to break free of it. The teacher I feared most was middle school media advisor, Mrs. Janes. She was a strict, older woman who everyone said was the meanest teacher alive. One day, as I was walking to lunch, she pulled me aside and told me I should join the speech team. I said yes out of fear, and doing so was the best decision I ever made.

I am Teeb 16 years old Laos is where I’m from Love family, but there is no family to love Lost gone As lonely as a boat in the middle of the ocean I am Hmong My religion is Buddhism I am Teeb

Starting elementary school, I was a very shy child which worked against me when it came to our class readings. Each student took turns reading sections of the stories our teacher provided, with me being so shy I often read quietly. I recall many times when my teacher asked me to speak up so others could understand what I was reading which most time I was embarrassed but ultimately led me to leaving my comfort zone. As middle school approached I felt scared but also prepared. My brother told me horror stories about his middle school experience which included doing speeches and reading papers he wrote aloud to his class. That frightened me enough to spend most of my summer preparing. I read five books that I can recall that summer and I also practiced my brother’s old vocabulary words. I went into the school year