Growing Up With Immigrant Parents

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My Roots: Growing up with immigrant parents isn’t always easy. Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents and I’m full of gratitude because they played a big role in shaping me into who I am today. But no one is perfect, everyone has their flaws, it’s just a matter of how you embrace them. Being raised with Asian immigrant parents, I learned to always be paranoid about anyone and everything. “Never let your guard down in public” or “you know your friends won’t help you at your lowest”. I was told I couldn’t trust anyone, and the only people I could trust were my immediate family. Now of course, I don’t totally disagree with what they would tell me and my brothers. Even now, I’m cautious when I meet someone new, but their teachings still influence …show more content…

Their paranoia didn’t stop there, though. The news and the media were a big influence on them. It's funny because they always tell us to not spend too much time on our phones and to not believe everything we see on the internet. But when they see the slightest bit of danger on their screen, they tell us not to go outside. Their strictness was both a blessing and a curse growing up. I’m sure it prevented me from some extent of danger, but it also prevented me from experiencing things other kids my age got to experience. Having immigrant parents from the Philippines with no extended family here in Canada meant my parents had to work for everything in order to give my siblings and I a better life than they had. They were like machines. I could see how hardworking they were, how tired they’d be after work, how they would never complain. They showed me that if you want something in life, you need to work for it. Seeing how much they would do for the people they loved inspired me, and helped me to mature quicker. They made me want to return that love to

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