Personal Narrative: My First Generation Asian American

Growing up in a lower class family my mother was barely able to pay the bills. My father left my mother when I was fourteen. So she was forced to provide for my siblings and me on her school bus driver salary. My mother had the best health benefits a job provides, her children never went without healthcare. I will say the majority of lower class family’s do not have this luxury, it depends on the job. My siblings and I have also had a quality education because my mother researched the school districts in our area before deciding where to enroll her kids. The lower class can get a quality education we just have to be determined to work hard. In order to get a college education as a lower class citizen I have to work a full time job while going to school full time. I have a wonderful role model my mother got her bachelor’s degree while working to full time jobs one graveyard and one during the day while going to school full time. If she can do that then I can’t disappoint her all she’s ever wanted for her children was a better life. The government provides financial aid, but it isn’t enough to live on while going to school. I have to utilize every free moment I have to complete my assignments, because of that I don’t have any free time. College is my only shot at moving up the class ladder of America.

As a first-generation Asian-American college student and the first in my family to move onto higher education, my chances of academic success were improbable.

I am a breathtaking, stunning, and outstanding student. I am these things because I know that even before reading this essay, the first thing you read was my name. Most of the faculties that are reading this essay are probably thinking, “oh, it’s another Asian student whose name I’m not sure how to pronounce,” or “that sandwich for lunch was good, I should’ve taken another bite before I came here.” Before anything else, I am Hmong. It’s a subculture that is quite spread throughout Southeast Asia. I was born in Thailand and immigrated to the United States in October 2004. There are seven members in my father’s household. Having a Confucian ideology binded within me, I almost always put my family’s needs before my own. I would tell myself that if something does not benefit me, then I don’t need it. Then on, I hated going shopping like normal girls because I don’t want to burden my family with financial problems. If, however, I needed something, my mom would have already bought them for me. When my older sister entered her senior year in high school, I decided to do all the chores I could in the house. It was demanding and exhausting, but because I decided to do most of the chores, my sister finally had more time to herself and was

Throughout my entire life I have heard the word “immigrant” countless times, inmy childhood, in my middle school days, and especially nowadays with the controversial topic taking over social media. I’ve been labelled with this word or image ever since my birth, and yet I still don’t exactly know how I should feel about that.

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.

Past, on the eve of July 25th A little mixed Asian baby boy was born, on the island of Hawaii. That little Asian kids name was Takeo, an only child till the age of three until he was gifted with another rampaging monster he could wreck house with. The two grew together Corroborating on their Meticulous destruction, terrorizing their parents. Then the other monster had gotten into an accident that took the ultimate price, at the time I didn't understand because I was too young. As time went on so did life, and with it came hardships that most people work through and become better stronger people.

It all began in the year 1955. This was the year that so many great things shook the foundation of America that will never be forgotten for years and years to come. My name is Joyce Norman I was a military brat that was born and raised in the small town of Fayetteville, North Carolina along with one brother and four sisters. To show a little humor, this is another place like Texas that has bipolar weather from sunny skies with a hint of rain to a giant blizzard that’ll give you a death of pneumonia. Throughout, the years of my life as an African American we heard songs of change, we were insured and inspired in church that change would come some way or another either in the community or in our nation. As the world continued to change I

Throughout last generation, immigration has been vital for my family- my mother is an immigrant, and so are my paternal grandparents. Being Mexican immigrants in a land that does not accept you is hard; I’ve seen the struggles firsthand. Like my grandparents, my mother did not have many opportunities once she entered the United States. She came seeking to start a career and make a name for herself, yet ended up being an assistant manager at Wal-Mart. Nonetheless, she has worked hard alongside my father to provide the best for my brother and I. But I know if she was a white American without a Mexican accent,

The pain and the suffering, the oppression, and the exclusion all describe the history of Asia America. When they arrived to the United States, they become labeled as Asians. These Asians come from Japan, China, Korea, Laos, Thailand, and many other diverse countries in the Eastern hemisphere. These people wanted to escape from their impoverished lives as the West continued to infiltrate their motherland. They saw America as the promise land filled with opportunity to succeed in life. Yet due to the discrimination placed from society and continual unfair

Growing up a first generation Asian American I’ve been thoroughly exposed to two unique and different worlds. This has resulted in my life being a distinctive mix of both Vietnamese and American culture, and thus widening my scope and opening my mind. This is why I believe that open mindedness is my strongest IB trait. Open mindedness has definitely benefitted me both at home and at school. At home I’m not just juggling two cultures now, but three. This year my family is hosting two French exchange students and being open to their customs and values is very helpful in connecting to them and making them feel welcomed. At school this trait is helpful because Robinson encompasses such a huge and varied student body and I find that being open

The American Dream is different for everyone. It is possible for everyone to attain but it is easier and harder for some to attain. It is easier for Asians to attain this dream now than it used to be because of the success of other Asians in the past, the elimination of ethnic enclaves, and fairer immigration laws.

There have been people from many different countries, nations, and religions who have decided to migrate from other places to the United States throughout history. But perhaps none have come in more mass than the Chinese. With declining economic and political conditions at home, many literally saw coming to the United States as a "golden" opportunity. Once arriving here though, many found out it wasn't as opportune as they thought.

I came from China to America in 2015. Because I was new to here and can’t speak English very well, my parents advised me to go to college to improve my English. At the beginning, I was so confused about everything around me. The new environment was unfamiliar to me, and besides, I also felt very scared, since I didn’t know what kind of life would be in front of me. Having no other choice, I decided to start with going to college. In the first semester, I took the math and sociology class, totally 8 units. Because I was unfamiliar with the system how America students choose the class, I dare not to take so many classes. In the process, I got to know that the education in America is quite different with that in China. Students can ask questions

I am a first generation Chinese-American who has picked up a love for swimming and engineering. Given my ethnic background followed many traditional principles I was forced to follow. From learning how to swim at age four to joining the YMCA swim team, gaining the artistry of seven years of piano to four years of classical violin, nothing seemed to cut it for . As a result, I blended into the monochromatic painting of Asian expectations. This disadvantage I was stuck made it hard to exclude myself in the large Asian community. Despising what my parents forced me to do, I wanted to forge a different path that would lead me to the emancipation of Asian expectations.

I recently went on a trip with my mother to New York, an incredibly diverse city dubbed as the "melting pot" of America. The city was incredibly different from my hometown and one of the first things that stood out to me was the incredible amount of security checkpoints throughout the city. They were usually located at the entrances of important landmarks and buildings, but I was not used to the amount of law enforcement we were surrounded by. While waiting in line for a bag check to enter the New York Public Library, there was a family in front of us that appeared to be from a Middle Eastern country; the father had a turban and a long, dark beard. I recall noting how long it was taking for security to thoroughly check the wife's bag and their