Sohmin Shin
Ms. Cain
English 101
September 14, 2016
Born, Not Raised
"When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable."
--- Clifton Fadiman Our value in life comes from our life experiences. I was supposed to grow up in a small, countryside of Korea. My biological father and my mother finalize a divorce and I find myself making a home in America. I traveled the world at a young age, it was not my choice, but it was my life in a new family, as I became a military child. Coming to America, I look and understand the meaning of culture, but I could never look back and settle for the life I would have had in Korea. The most significant memory of …show more content…
We all lived on a military base for all my life since I met my dad and it was not until I was 14 years old that I lived in a house my parents officially owned. It was then I realized what my parents have done for me. My American father wanted me to adapt to the American culture. In order to do that, my dad decided I needed to stop following the Korean customs. I came to America at a young age, so I never experienced the "culture shock." My parents agreed that I had to stop learning the Korean language to help me better understand the English language once I started school. I had to stop bowing to men and elders when they entered my house. My dad did not want me to keep bowing at him even if it was out of respect. My dad wanted me to eat with him and not after, he has taken his first bite. Korea is a male dominated country. Men are the head figure, family name carrier, and moneymaker in the family. My mother was not going to marry my biological father who was a traditionalist. His side of the family believed women should wear dresses and not pants. His family did not want women to know or learn how to drive a car. My mother did not want to be a part of this lifestyle. She grew up in a small income family with having two sisters and one brother. Her brother, even though he was the second oldest, he was the most lavished one by the parents. Life in Korea was hard for my mother growing up. It is not the same country it is today with more independence for
Ms. Cain
English 101
September 14, 2016
Born, Not Raised
"When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable."
--- Clifton Fadiman Our value in life comes from our life experiences. I was supposed to grow up in a small, countryside of Korea. My biological father and my mother finalize a divorce and I find myself making a home in America. I traveled the world at a young age, it was not my choice, but it was my life in a new family, as I became a military child. Coming to America, I look and understand the meaning of culture, but I could never look back and settle for the life I would have had in Korea. The most significant memory of …show more content…
We all lived on a military base for all my life since I met my dad and it was not until I was 14 years old that I lived in a house my parents officially owned. It was then I realized what my parents have done for me. My American father wanted me to adapt to the American culture. In order to do that, my dad decided I needed to stop following the Korean customs. I came to America at a young age, so I never experienced the "culture shock." My parents agreed that I had to stop learning the Korean language to help me better understand the English language once I started school. I had to stop bowing to men and elders when they entered my house. My dad did not want me to keep bowing at him even if it was out of respect. My dad wanted me to eat with him and not after, he has taken his first bite. Korea is a male dominated country. Men are the head figure, family name carrier, and moneymaker in the family. My mother was not going to marry my biological father who was a traditionalist. His side of the family believed women should wear dresses and not pants. His family did not want women to know or learn how to drive a car. My mother did not want to be a part of this lifestyle. She grew up in a small income family with having two sisters and one brother. Her brother, even though he was the second oldest, he was the most lavished one by the parents. Life in Korea was hard for my mother growing up. It is not the same country it is today with more independence for