Critical Chatter in a Vietnamese GenX Immigrant’s Mind. Part One. This is my true account of my mixed experiences, perceptions and feelings in the aftermath of immigrating to Australia from Vietnam in 1978. The fall of Saigon to the domineering Communists on April 30th, 49 years ago, brought to the spotlight the plights of immigrants throughout various countries. My experiences include trying to fit into the school society as an immigrant; perceptions about my parents’ sacrifices and my labor as a child; and various positive and negative feelings in regard to my achievements, failures and self-criticism. Leaving my motherland, I was afraid of not being able to speak a new language and whether I would fit into the western civilization. My tears
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Even my auntie sitting adjacent to me approved, which made me overjoyed. This was my early childhood in Australia, which starkly contrasted with the happy, carefree life in the school classroom and playground. Early morning awakening was dreadful, since as a playful kid with infinite enthusiasm and energy, I relished the extra sleep. However, I obediently followed my parents into the car in the morning hours and traveled to the farm. In between the farm trips, the semester school breaks gave rise to plenty of work in the sweatshops that housed hundreds of sewing machines. My simple job was to cut the cotton thread ends of piles and piles of garments, which was quite easy for me. Surviving through the wintry days on the farm and sewing sweatshops, I welcomed the arrival of hot, dry summery days. This paved the way for working on farms nurturing apples, almonds and cherry trees. These sacrifices and my hard labor further laid the platform for mounting greater expectations from the older generation for the offspring to become successful, in all aspects of life, without …show more content…
Self-improvement wasn’t a trending or common subject matter in those days, especially for a kid. Yet, at the back of my mind, I knew that a pressure cooker was heating up and my mind would play tricks on me. The Self Critic and My Negative Feelings Sometimes, I feel a bit down when I feel that my effort wasn’t good enough. Whether it’s my schoolwork or sporting activities, I want to do my best. The odd times when I failed, my mind would tick over with constant and useless thoughts. “Am I good enough to be the top schooler in my classroom?” “Why can’t I run faster?” This self-criticism would lead me to think about my physical appearance. My eyes are a standout to my Caucasian friends in the school. At an early age, I never understood why my eyes had a different shape to them. Having a slant at the outer end of the eyes looks totally different compared to the other children’s eyes. My eyes were boringly brown whereas my friends have amazing, different colors in their irises. In addition, my friends were growing taller than me in high school, and I felt my shortness was an inferior aspect of having a perfect
Even my auntie sitting adjacent to me approved, which made me overjoyed. This was my early childhood in Australia, which starkly contrasted with the happy, carefree life in the school classroom and playground. Early morning awakening was dreadful, since as a playful kid with infinite enthusiasm and energy, I relished the extra sleep. However, I obediently followed my parents into the car in the morning hours and traveled to the farm. In between the farm trips, the semester school breaks gave rise to plenty of work in the sweatshops that housed hundreds of sewing machines. My simple job was to cut the cotton thread ends of piles and piles of garments, which was quite easy for me. Surviving through the wintry days on the farm and sewing sweatshops, I welcomed the arrival of hot, dry summery days. This paved the way for working on farms nurturing apples, almonds and cherry trees. These sacrifices and my hard labor further laid the platform for mounting greater expectations from the older generation for the offspring to become successful, in all aspects of life, without …show more content…
Self-improvement wasn’t a trending or common subject matter in those days, especially for a kid. Yet, at the back of my mind, I knew that a pressure cooker was heating up and my mind would play tricks on me. The Self Critic and My Negative Feelings Sometimes, I feel a bit down when I feel that my effort wasn’t good enough. Whether it’s my schoolwork or sporting activities, I want to do my best. The odd times when I failed, my mind would tick over with constant and useless thoughts. “Am I good enough to be the top schooler in my classroom?” “Why can’t I run faster?” This self-criticism would lead me to think about my physical appearance. My eyes are a standout to my Caucasian friends in the school. At an early age, I never understood why my eyes had a different shape to them. Having a slant at the outer end of the eyes looks totally different compared to the other children’s eyes. My eyes were boringly brown whereas my friends have amazing, different colors in their irises. In addition, my friends were growing taller than me in high school, and I felt my shortness was an inferior aspect of having a perfect