Fitting In?

935 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The consequences of cultural assimilation

Fitting In? I am a Japanese-American, growing up I never felt like I belonged in either one. I never felt that I was fully Japanese because I did not have all of the same beliefs and traditions as other Japanese people. Nor did I feel fully American because I fully do not believe in all of the American beliefs. I saw myself relating more to the Japanese culture because it taught me to be more respectful to my elders and other people in the community. Growing up I had to assimilate to the prevailing culture because people were bantering me because I had unusual views than they did. It was hard for me growing up; I was trying to identify myself as either a Japanese boy or an American boy while I was at school and at home. At school I had to be this normal American boy, while at home, I had to be a Japanese boy. I felt like two different people. This also tied into me having an awkward relationship with other kids my age especially the girls. I would ask my parents if it was okay for me to date, their response was “as long they are some sort of Asian, then it is okay.” Today my parents do not believe in that saying, they just want to see me in high spirits, but as I was growing up it was hard for me to find a girl that I liked that fit my family standards I always found myself fond of another race other than my own and my parents were not too thrilled with the choices I made when it came to girls when I was an adolescent. Growing up was never easy for me; I am assuming it is never easy for anyone. I think it is certainly tougher for anyone who is of mixed races trying to figure out which one he or she best fits into. Growing up in a Japanese household, there were a lot of differences between my household and the households of all ... ... middle of paper ... ...keptical of dating other races; but it does not matter because I am an adult and make my own decisions. It is hard to believe that my parents would put social barriers on their kid. In conclusion growing up with an ethnic background was pretty hard; I did not get ridiculed for looking different or doing things differently. There was when I had to assimilate to be accepted in a new town because I did not want to be known as a nerd if I played with the Asian kids instead when I was at school I adapted and changed my beliefs and played with the White kids to feel accepted. But, the hardest part was not in the social atmosphere it comes when it came to my parents. My parents put up these social barriers to not allow me to expand out of my own race. Growing up I broke out of their chain and started to explore different friends and started to date people of other races.

Show More
Related

  • Lightening Lipstick Thesis Statement

    477 Words  | 1 Pages

    Thesis Statement: Society often forces biracial and multicultural people to identify themselves with one ethnic group by denying other part of their ethnic background. An analysis of the many scientific studies, literature, and art reveals the complexities of growing up with parents of different races. The American tendency to prefer lighter skin effects how biracial children form their identities and often causes them to deny their black heritage.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: Being African American Guyanese Immigrants

    424 Words  | 1 Pages

    My parents were proud of being African American Guyanese immigrants, and they often speak about their grandparents who were Portuguese, British, and from St. Vincent. My parent’s sibling didn’t all look alike and their ancestors didn’t either and I never once heard them speak badly about them being lighter or darker. In fact, my father would boast about having ancestors that are White, Spanish and Indian. Gaining a sense of ethnic and racialized self both worked in my favor and against me. I live in a neighborhood surrounded by many different ethnicity, nationalities, and race. Along the years it changed, less and less Caucasian people lived in the neighborhood. I was raised around people of many different racial identity and ethnicities, this allowed me to accept them because I was exposed as an adolescent. My parents shared friends of various races in which they spoke highly about and they never instilled in me that I shouldn’t accept a certain race. However, I wish they taught me how to deal with those that are not so accepting of African

    Read More

  • Identity Essay: My Cultural Identity, Is Haitian American

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    I wanted to wear brand clothes/shoes they did, I wanted to do my hair like them, and make good grades like them. I wanted to fit in. My cultural identify took a back seat. But it was not long before I felt black and white did not mix. I must have heard too many comments asking to speak Haitian or I do not look Haitian, but more than that, I am black, so I always had to answer question about my hair or why my nose is big, and that I talked white. This feeling carried on to high school because the questions never went away and the distance between me and them grew larger. There was not much action my family could take for those moments in my life, but shared their encounters or conversations to show me I was not alone in dealing with people of other background. I surrounded myself with less white people and more people of color and today, not much has

    Read More

  • Growing Up In A Mexican-American Family: Growing Up In Mexican American Culture

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    Growing up in a marginalized minority is a difficult task because there are a lot of differences between cultures. In the Mexican American culture, family is crucial, this is where one comes when one needs someone to talk to. In my experience, I had was raised being stuck in the middle of two different cultures I had to know what my identity was through, family, school, and through my travels.

    Read More

  • My Asian-American Experience

    1636 Words  | 4 Pages

    In this paper I will be sharing information I had gathered involving two students that were interviewed regarding education and their racial status of being an Asian-American. I will examine these subjects’ experiences as an Asian-American through the education they had experienced throughout their entire lives. I will also be relating and analyzing their experiences through the various concepts we had learned and discussed in class so far. Both of these individuals have experiences regarding their education that have similarities and differences.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: Growing Up As An Asian American

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the early years of my life, adapting to the foreign customs of America was my top priority. Although born in America, I constantly moved back and forth from Korea to the US, experiencing nerve-racking, yet thrilling emotions caused by the unfamiliarity of new traditions. Along with these strange traditions, came struggles with accepting my ethnicity. Because of the obvious physical differences due to my race, the first question asked by the students in elementary school was, “Are you from China?” These inquiries were constantly asked by several of American students until middle school which transformed to “You must be good at math” referencing the stereotypical intellect that Asian are perceived to have. Through continuous insult on my Asian heritage, I began to believe and later hate the person I was due to criticism made by teenagers which I started to see true despite all the lies that was actively told. This racial discrimination was a reoccurring pattern that

    Read More

  • Diversity Statement - African American

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    While I never knew my father, I did grow to know the challenges faced by African Americans. I first began to feel different when I transferred from public to private middle school. People began asking about my ethnicity for the first time in my life. Until this time, it had never seemed important. Although I had never been overly fond of my curly hair, it, along with other traits deemed too 'ethnic' looking, now became a source of shame. I had a few not so affectionate nicknames because of those curls. I was shocked to realize that people considered me different or less desirable because of these physical traits. Being turned away from an open house in my twenties was just as shocking as being ...

    Read More

  • Biracial Identity Development

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    It has been said that the physical variations in the human species have no meaning except the social one that humans put on them. Society has placed stigmas on race dating all the way back to the 1600s. Still in the 21st century the American society is still trying to work through racial boundaries. With such stigmas being placed on them, biracial individuals often self-identify or be identified by others differently, depending on the social context. A biracial individual’s racial identity development is contingent upon many factors, both internal and external. With the dramatic increase in the number of individuals with a bi or multiracial background it is important for us to recognize the complexity of the racial identity development of this culture. It is critical to understand the hardships as well as the advantages of being biracial, to help them avoid any negative behaviors which could yield lifelong consequences. The healthy development of one’s racial identity is imperative for a biracial child to be able to achieve and maintain a positive psychological and social adjustment throughout the lifespan.

    Read More

  • Influences Of Asian American Literature

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    These are the two questions that I get asked regularly by non-Asians. I always reply “Well I was born and raised in America but my family comes from Hong Kong.” I grew up constantly being told to take pride in being Chinese, however, I was also consistently told by my family to be proud that I even have the opportunity to grow up in America. There was never a definite answer as to what I was, so I learned to accept both. I am Asian American. Many people have questions about what “Asian American” really means and their questions brought on questions of my own. It was not until recently that Asian American influences became more prominent in my life. I was able to find books,

    Read More

  • Retaining a Korean Identity

    1161 Words  | 3 Pages

    My parents were born and raised in South Korea, and in 1973 they immigrated to Los Angeles, California. That is where I was born and raised. In the first few years of elementary school, I was one of only a handful of non-white, non-Latino kids. I recall being told by the blonde girl who ruled the playground to go play with the other Asian-American kids since we were all the same. I recall this now with humor, but at the time I think I was quite bemused by it. By then, I had accepted there were differences in people, but this was one of my earliest introductions to the notion that people were the same based on "where they were from," to rephrase the question often put to me then...

    Read More

  • Being Adopted

    1555 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...nd then found myself to be distinctively not like the reaction I found myself / the way I found myself reacting to certain situations) and pretend they wouldn't have an issue with this or that but when faced with a reality of embracing the scenario it can be a very different story. And that's through no fault of their own. I included will believe and think I am capable or ready for something I've never experienced before and when I am confronted with the reality I have been very surprised by my own reactions. Reactions that I was not prepared for and however much I may have disliked what I was seeing about my personality through the reaction I couldn't deny that it wasn't happening. My parents could have said they had no problem with other ethnic children but when confronted with the reality they may have learnt that in fact they were not prepared for the situation.

    Read More

  • Negative Effects Of Being A First Generation

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    Living in an immigrant family, I learn a lot about both cultures and understand most reason on why things are the way they are. There are plenty of things I didn’t get to experience while I was younger and mostly because of my parent’s traditions and their beliefs about how I should have been raised. There were also a lot of things that indirectly caused me to succeed in, because of different lifestyle. There are plenty of things that happen to people like me, some of the more popular ones are: Getting good grades in school; Having a very small social life; Becoming well mannered; Never getting complimented

    Read More

  • Cultural Autobiography Example

    1740 Words  | 4 Pages

    I was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida. My mother was born in Taiwan and moved to the United States to continue her education when she was in her mid- twenties. My father is from Fort Walton Beach, Florida. My parents have different cultures, and as a result they have completely different backgrounds. When I was growing up, I had a hard time reconciling these different cultures. It was difficult for me and my sister to know what to do in many social situations because our primary schema (our parents) would act completely different in similar social situations. When I would ask my parents for advice, they would give me contrasting suggestions. As I grew older, I started to realize that both my parents were right, even if they acted like opposites.

    Read More

  • My Greatest Failure

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    I grew up in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood, where I was one of the twelve Asian students in my grade of three hundred and fifty and the only Chinese student in my class. I struggled to understand what my classmates, friends, and teachers talked about because they spoke primarily Spanish outside of the classroom, and I could barely count to ten. Fitting in was hard not only because of the language barrier but also the racial and cultural differences. Making friends with people who have little or nothing in common is difficult, so I attempted to copy whatever my classmates would do. I ate what they ate, watched what they watched, and played whatever sports they played. I took Spanish lessons with the family who lived below me, and in exchange I taught them a bit of Mandarin. By the second grade, I had eased into the community around me despite only having two close friends. They helped me to embrace my Chinese side while being assimilated. I could stop being someone I wasn’t, and I was not scared to be myself with them because they were fascinated by my unique characteristic from having Chinese heritage. I enjoyed living in Corona, since everything I needed was so close, and this i...

    Read More

  • Where Do You Fit In?

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine the place that you are the most comfortable, the place where you get that quote on quote “warm fuzzy feeling”. For you that might be your house, a specific class in school, or a house of someone you know well. We usually get this feeling because of things that we’ve done there, people we’ve met, or just the familiar surroundings. For me it’s not a specific place, instead all I need to feel comfortable is my family. Throughout the start of my life up until now I have had arguments and fights with my siblings but I know that every one of those disputes has strengthened my family bond. I have had so many learning and growing experiences and each one taught me different things. These experiences range from family road trips, to doing the same things as my siblings, and even the little everyday schedule has taught me things about my family.

    Read More

More about Fitting In?

Open Document