Spring Roll: Cultural Identity

The Spring Roll Spring rolls are a very popular Vietnamese dish that describes my cultural identity perfectly. Spring rolls are made up of a mixture of meat and vegetables wrapped in a rice paper. Both of my parents came from Vietnam and raised me around the Vietnamese culture. However, being raised in Hawaii, I view things differently from my parents. Like the meat and vegetables in the spring rolls, I am too mixed. The rice paper wrap is my cultural identity because it holds my Vietnamese culture and Hawaii culture together. The most important elements in my culture is education, clothing, and language. Each of these elements shape who I am and my perspective on life. Education is very important and taken very seriously in Vietnamese culture. People care more about education than their wealth. Parents will push their kids to be top of their class. Whenever I talk to my relatives they’re always concerned with how well I’m doing in school. I will see a “C” on my report card but my parents will see an “F”. In my family anything below a “B” is not accepted, however, sometimes you aren’t even allowed to get a “B”. When I used to talk about my future with my parents or relatives when I was little, it’s always been about becoming a doctor. However, being …show more content…
This specific dress is worn to school, wedding ceremonies, funerals, the temple, work, etc. My cousin works in an office so on certain days she is required to wear a Vietnamese long dress and my niece is required to wear one when she attends school. Since both of my parents are full Vietnamese when I went back to Vietnam during the Summer for my brother’s wedding, I had to get one made and wear it for his wedding. Wearing that dress made me feel like I was reconnecting with my Vietnamese roots because I live in Hawaii and I don’t get to encounter a lot of Vietnamese people besides my family