Look Through a Broader Lens
For centuries, people have arrived on American land with little more than a suitcase and a dream of a better life. The promise of freedom and equal opportunity continues to attract foreigners to America, even though many thought that with hard work and dedication could lead an American immigrant to success. Having reached the promised land, immigrants find themselves faced with unimaginable obstacles. My family came to America to pursue a better life. Both of my parents came from middle class family in Dalian, China. In 1991, my parents with my brother who was 9 years old then decided to take the opportunity that only a few people were given in China to come to America. They came to America to seek the American Dream, …show more content…
The famous sociologist said that, “the sociological imagination enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals (Mills, 1959: 2). Understanding social imagination gives insight to my own life. Being a middle class family in America gave me access to middle class privilege and economic resources. In this paper, I will discuss how my family life choices affected our social mobility and how social policies can affect us in both negative and positive ways. I will also discuss how as a model minority my family’s race played an important role in getting …show more content…
It turns out that my community college has a lot of resources like an Honors Transfer Program, honor societies and classes with motivated professors. The counselors were helpful in providing me resources to increase my advantages in transferring into a four year college. Being able to have the resources and financial aid helped me to be where I am today attending UC Berkeley. It would be easy for people to label me as part of the model minority. Being a model minority is having “a strong work ethic, high value placed on educational achievement, and table family relations are routinely cited as among the most influential factors promoting upward mobility” (Woo, 2000: 193). Due to that I am Asian; I usually get classified with all of the labels that come with being Asian, such as being a part of the model minority. As a part of the model minority, it is assumed that I, as well as every other Asian American student, should be hard working with a successful future. I personally feel that as a transfer student, everyone has put in hard work, but having the right opportunities is also key in getting into a university. Minority groups in America are being pulled apart instead of coming together and identifying with one another’s problems. Because Asian Americans are labeled as model minority, many Americans believe that non-Asian minority groups suffer consequences as a result of their own
For centuries, people have arrived on American land with little more than a suitcase and a dream of a better life. The promise of freedom and equal opportunity continues to attract foreigners to America, even though many thought that with hard work and dedication could lead an American immigrant to success. Having reached the promised land, immigrants find themselves faced with unimaginable obstacles. My family came to America to pursue a better life. Both of my parents came from middle class family in Dalian, China. In 1991, my parents with my brother who was 9 years old then decided to take the opportunity that only a few people were given in China to come to America. They came to America to seek the American Dream, …show more content…
The famous sociologist said that, “the sociological imagination enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals (Mills, 1959: 2). Understanding social imagination gives insight to my own life. Being a middle class family in America gave me access to middle class privilege and economic resources. In this paper, I will discuss how my family life choices affected our social mobility and how social policies can affect us in both negative and positive ways. I will also discuss how as a model minority my family’s race played an important role in getting …show more content…
It turns out that my community college has a lot of resources like an Honors Transfer Program, honor societies and classes with motivated professors. The counselors were helpful in providing me resources to increase my advantages in transferring into a four year college. Being able to have the resources and financial aid helped me to be where I am today attending UC Berkeley. It would be easy for people to label me as part of the model minority. Being a model minority is having “a strong work ethic, high value placed on educational achievement, and table family relations are routinely cited as among the most influential factors promoting upward mobility” (Woo, 2000: 193). Due to that I am Asian; I usually get classified with all of the labels that come with being Asian, such as being a part of the model minority. As a part of the model minority, it is assumed that I, as well as every other Asian American student, should be hard working with a successful future. I personally feel that as a transfer student, everyone has put in hard work, but having the right opportunities is also key in getting into a university. Minority groups in America are being pulled apart instead of coming together and identifying with one another’s problems. Because Asian Americans are labeled as model minority, many Americans believe that non-Asian minority groups suffer consequences as a result of their own