Introduction
“Wake up baby, it’s time for your first day of school,” my mom said to me gingerly. She also shook me softly to force me out of bed. My mother had my clothes laid out for me on the edge of my bed. As I was changing my clothes and brushing my teeth, my mom was downstairs preparing breakfast for me. Since it was my first day of school, my mom wanted to drop me off in front of the class and introduce herself to the teacher. I remember my mom asking me on the car ride to school, “Are you ready for your first day of school?” My reply to her was “yes,” but in a timid and discouraging response. As we arrived to school, my mother walked inside the facility to drop me off inside of the classroom. I stood beside my mother holding her hand …show more content…
School became one of my biggest influences to the decision of my in-group. Before I was even placed into school, I claimed myself to be Asian at the time. My parents were in the process of teaching me the Vietnamese language and some of its traditions. Traditions such as Vietnamese New Years and the proper way to greet my elderlies. I was already accustomed to the Vietnamese cuisines because my mother knew how to cook Vietnamese food and our family went down to Charlotte almost every weekend, where my grandparents would cook for us. Once school came around, I dropped our Vietnamese culture and desired only to be affiliated with the American culture. I pushed away the Asian part of me because school became the only part in my life where I could be just a kid and hang out with my friends. Once I came home, I expected to be swamped with academics and athletics. It wasn’t till later, around middle school and high school, that I recovered some of the Asian aspects in my life. I was drawn back by the family bond that had built over time because of the maturity I had reached. The adults in my family had started to hold conversations and listen to the opinions I exerted. They finally viewed me an adult rather than a kid. I had also grown close to my aunt and some of my cousins. I didn’t identify myself as an Asian-American until my freshman year in high school. According to No, Hong and Liao (2008), “Asian Americans who subscribe to the social constructionist theory may be inclined to understand their identity in terms of the shifting meanings of the pertinent social categories in changing intergroup contexts” (p.993). That is, because these people believe that racial differences are mostly caused by sociopolitical factors, and not by inalterable racial "(basic, built-in, important characteristics)," the Asian racial separation and labeling would not be an
“Wake up baby, it’s time for your first day of school,” my mom said to me gingerly. She also shook me softly to force me out of bed. My mother had my clothes laid out for me on the edge of my bed. As I was changing my clothes and brushing my teeth, my mom was downstairs preparing breakfast for me. Since it was my first day of school, my mom wanted to drop me off in front of the class and introduce herself to the teacher. I remember my mom asking me on the car ride to school, “Are you ready for your first day of school?” My reply to her was “yes,” but in a timid and discouraging response. As we arrived to school, my mother walked inside the facility to drop me off inside of the classroom. I stood beside my mother holding her hand …show more content…
School became one of my biggest influences to the decision of my in-group. Before I was even placed into school, I claimed myself to be Asian at the time. My parents were in the process of teaching me the Vietnamese language and some of its traditions. Traditions such as Vietnamese New Years and the proper way to greet my elderlies. I was already accustomed to the Vietnamese cuisines because my mother knew how to cook Vietnamese food and our family went down to Charlotte almost every weekend, where my grandparents would cook for us. Once school came around, I dropped our Vietnamese culture and desired only to be affiliated with the American culture. I pushed away the Asian part of me because school became the only part in my life where I could be just a kid and hang out with my friends. Once I came home, I expected to be swamped with academics and athletics. It wasn’t till later, around middle school and high school, that I recovered some of the Asian aspects in my life. I was drawn back by the family bond that had built over time because of the maturity I had reached. The adults in my family had started to hold conversations and listen to the opinions I exerted. They finally viewed me an adult rather than a kid. I had also grown close to my aunt and some of my cousins. I didn’t identify myself as an Asian-American until my freshman year in high school. According to No, Hong and Liao (2008), “Asian Americans who subscribe to the social constructionist theory may be inclined to understand their identity in terms of the shifting meanings of the pertinent social categories in changing intergroup contexts” (p.993). That is, because these people believe that racial differences are mostly caused by sociopolitical factors, and not by inalterable racial "(basic, built-in, important characteristics)," the Asian racial separation and labeling would not be an