Who am I? Am I an American? Or am I the culture that my family identify themselves as? These are the questions that I have asked myself my whole life, not knowing exactly what culture or country I am identified as, because I was raised by a solely immigrant family. I am aware that I may look different, however over the years I have learned to love myself for who I am and what makes me, me. The fact that I am the result of three cultures melded into one. The aroma of home-cooked vietnamese dishes, holiday parties with singing and dancing, and the constant shift between English, Vietnamese and Korean made up pieces of the simple but memorable experiences of my childhood. My mom would frequently tell me stories of her upbringing - stories that
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This completely broke my heart knowing that the most important person to me, who risked her life and left her own country to provide an entire reality for her children, was cast aside by people who thought they were better than her. After many horrible experiences my mom was fed up and transferred me to a new school. I was later placed in a different Denver Public School, but this time it was a middle school where I often heard “go back to your own country, you don't belong here” or stuff like “you’re the reason why America is stupid” and honestly those words made me realize that although I was borned and raised on American soil, I too am an immigrant. Unless you’re a Native American, you too are considered an immigrant, and the fact that we get to look down and judge those who are trying to create better lives for children is heartbreaking. Our country is strong today because of generation after generation of immigrants who were willing to fight for our country and make it a better place. Unless you’re Native American, you came from someplace else. Someone had to get you here in the first place whether it's your parents, grandparents or even ancestors. So why don’t we consider what our ancestors had to go through and treat today's immigrants the same because they too are humans and deserve
This completely broke my heart knowing that the most important person to me, who risked her life and left her own country to provide an entire reality for her children, was cast aside by people who thought they were better than her. After many horrible experiences my mom was fed up and transferred me to a new school. I was later placed in a different Denver Public School, but this time it was a middle school where I often heard “go back to your own country, you don't belong here” or stuff like “you’re the reason why America is stupid” and honestly those words made me realize that although I was borned and raised on American soil, I too am an immigrant. Unless you’re a Native American, you too are considered an immigrant, and the fact that we get to look down and judge those who are trying to create better lives for children is heartbreaking. Our country is strong today because of generation after generation of immigrants who were willing to fight for our country and make it a better place. Unless you’re Native American, you came from someplace else. Someone had to get you here in the first place whether it's your parents, grandparents or even ancestors. So why don’t we consider what our ancestors had to go through and treat today's immigrants the same because they too are humans and deserve