Two Worlds of an Immigrant
When people immigrate, they are often simply trying to live a better life: to rise above poverty, escape oppression or leave a warring land. However moving from one country to a very different one is one of the hardest things one can do: it involves more than leaving something behind, it involves coming into a new county, and a new culture, and being an outsider. Many adults have no trouble sticking to their original culture in the midst of a new job and interacting with people of a different culture. But children and adolescents often have trouble reconciling the difference between their parent’s culture and the culture of their peers or teachers.
To illustrate the impact cultural identity can have on an immigrant, consider Ricard Rodriguez’s personal narrative of his own acculturation, “Scholarship boy.” Rodriguez was born into an immigrant family, and didn’t speak English until he was 6. He was later very achieved academically, with awards and years of higher education. But he realizes that during this time he was transitioning from seeking parental approval to seeking teacher approval. He rejected (and even realized his rejection) his parents, and thus the culture he had grown up with. He had seen the difference …show more content…
Often to find balance, a more individualistic approach is necessary, so that one can take values from each culture and choose when there is conflict. People who continue to find identity with collectivism or need to find a more specific cultural identity may become a part of a group that is not associated solely with one national culture or another. Bhatty did this by not declaring herself Pakistani or American but a Muslim. Other groups can be based on interests, activism, religion, or other aspects of
When people immigrate, they are often simply trying to live a better life: to rise above poverty, escape oppression or leave a warring land. However moving from one country to a very different one is one of the hardest things one can do: it involves more than leaving something behind, it involves coming into a new county, and a new culture, and being an outsider. Many adults have no trouble sticking to their original culture in the midst of a new job and interacting with people of a different culture. But children and adolescents often have trouble reconciling the difference between their parent’s culture and the culture of their peers or teachers.
To illustrate the impact cultural identity can have on an immigrant, consider Ricard Rodriguez’s personal narrative of his own acculturation, “Scholarship boy.” Rodriguez was born into an immigrant family, and didn’t speak English until he was 6. He was later very achieved academically, with awards and years of higher education. But he realizes that during this time he was transitioning from seeking parental approval to seeking teacher approval. He rejected (and even realized his rejection) his parents, and thus the culture he had grown up with. He had seen the difference …show more content…
Often to find balance, a more individualistic approach is necessary, so that one can take values from each culture and choose when there is conflict. People who continue to find identity with collectivism or need to find a more specific cultural identity may become a part of a group that is not associated solely with one national culture or another. Bhatty did this by not declaring herself Pakistani or American but a Muslim. Other groups can be based on interests, activism, religion, or other aspects of