Personal Narrative: Myself And My Cultural Identity

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Growing up as a first generation Chinese-American, I felt as if I was stranded in the void between two worlds, isolated and alone. At school, I hid my Chinese self and tried to be more ‘American’ in order to fit in. At home, I then carefully tucked away my American half and acted the dutiful Chinese son to please my parents. If Chinese and American were two planets, I was a vagabond flitting back and forth between them, unsettled and insecure, never quite belonging in either one. In my junior year of high school, one pivotal experience transformed the way I viewed myself and my cultural identity. I met and quickly bonded with a Chinese exchange student over our shared taste for Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou. Our friendship blossomed from that

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