'The Struggle To Be An All-American Girl'

Who would have known that on June 6, 1958, an award-winning contemporary television writer, theatrical director, college professor, columnist, college professor, and play writer would be born in Los Angeles, California? This extraordinary figures name is Elizabeth Wong or as I call her “ the woman of many hats”. It was a long journey before Wong would become the figure she is today. Wong was raised along side her brother in Chinatown, Los Angeles. As a child, Wong was not accepting of her Chinese heritage. In her essay “The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl” published first by Los Angeles Times, Wong tells her painful experience growing up in the bicultural atmosphere. She describes how difficult it was being Chinese on the outside but American on the inside. Wong goes into detail on how both her and her brother had to attend a Chinese school, how the Nationalist Republic of China flag was also red, white and blue but not as pretty, how Nancy Drew was her favorite book heroine although she never spoke Chinese, and her language was a source of embarrassment. This essay was what ultimately set the tone for what Wong had in store for us. …show more content…
While she attended USC she worked as a field producer at KNXT-TV Channel Two News, and as a reporter for both The San Diego Tribune and The Hartford Courant. After living her life as a reporter, she became a writer for Walt Disney Studios, and on to being a playwriting teacher at David Hwang Playwriting Institute. Most recently Wong has been an assistant professor at Bowdoin College and teaches playwriting at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Santa