Failure. What is it to you? For me, failure is the lack of change when I make a mistake. My third grade teacher, Mr. Ramirez, had used the quote “Un error es uno que no se no corrigen,” through the school year, but I never understood what it meant. On the last day, Mr. Ramirez explained the phrase as “A mistake is only a mistake if you do not fix it.” I didn’t really see its importance on that day, but by the end of fifth grade, and I was getting ready to leave elementary school, I realized the significance of Mr. Ramirez’s proverb. 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... ... middle of paper ... ..., but no trace of tears. I suppose, then, your heart has been weeping blood?’” (344). When I left my room, my mother knew that I had gone through a rough time, and I did not want to talk to her about it. Even though there was only a month left in my school year, I promised myself that I would be completely truthful to my friends, my family, my heritage, and myself. I expected all my friends to leave me, but I was fully prepared for this. However, none of this ever happened. My friends didn’t leave me, I wasn’t alone at the lunch table, I wasn’t even seem differently by those around me. I had failed my family by doing this, and I wished I had stopped acting like someone I wasn’t sooner. This is one of the only mistakes I have made which I consider a failure because it had taken me close to a year to fix, and this is why I consider it my most successful failure.
Failure to me was the position I was stuck in as a little girl, my family was stuck with little resources and stayed in the same neighborhood. In order for my expectations of my life to be where they are at now, they required me to live with that failure.
Immigrants have helped shape American identity by the languages they speak from their home country. Richard Rodriguez essay “Blaxicans and Other Reinvented Americans” reveals Rodriguez’s attitudes towards race and ethnicity as they relate to making people know what culture really identifies a person rather than their race. For example, in the essay, it states that Richard Rodriguez “ is Chinese, and this is because he lives in a Chinese City and because he wants to be Chinese. But I have lived in a Chinese City for so long that my eye has taken on the palette, has come to prefer lime greens and rose reds and all the inventions of this Chinese Mediterranean. lines 163-171”.
In this article, Eric Liu presents his life as a native immigrant to an Asian American individual. He shares his experience through his reflection of ideas and emotions. Along with his story, it relates to the ideas of people’s journey from adolescence to adulthood. Eric’s inspirational experience is directed towards minority groups who try to adapt to the American culture and lifestyle. His parents emigrated from China to America, before he was born which he later became exposed to the freedom and diverse society. This results in beneficial effects for his individuality, career opportunities, and lifestyle. Although his parents have lived in a different culture than him, his life in America has made him assimilated into the American society
When Chinese immigrants enter the United States of America, it is evident from the start that they are in a world far different than their homeland. Face to face with a dominant culture that often times acts and thinks in ways contrary to their previous lives, immigrants are on a difficult path of attempting to become an American. Chinese immigrants find themselves often caught between two worlds: the old world of structured, traditional and didactic China and the new world of mobile, young and prosperous America. They nostalgically look back at China longing for a simpler life but look at the United States as a land of opportunity and freedom that they did not know in China. For this is why they came to America in the first place, to provide for their children and themselves what they could not in China. To do this, of course, they are faced with the challenge of assimilating. Learning the language, acquiring education, owning property, etc. are all ways to seize the American Dream. However this poses a problem for the Chinese immigrant for, in the process of assimilation, they lose some of their Chinese culture. This especially rings true for the children of Chinese immigrants: the second-generation Chinese Americans.
What exactly is failure? It is, according to the dictionary, “Lack of success.” Many people say that “failure isn’t the falling down, but the staying down.” But who are we to say? Lack of hope, the thought that death and failure are one and the same, and a pessimistic outlook on life can cause someone to fail, but thankfully not everyone falls victim to these. Failure is always controversial, because people view things and events differently. As Elaine Maxewell once said, “My will shall shape the future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man's doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny.”
People who emigrated over from China to America faced and dealt with many discrimination issues. It is clear that from research as well as from the short story by Amy Tan, that Chinese Americans had a hard time accepting themselves, and also being ok with their culture. From this it is also clear that the most important thing in life is to be ok with yourself, and who you are, that’s all that
Failure is described as "lack of success". Success is defined as "the accomplishment of an aim or purpose". If failure is lack of success and success is to accomplish an aim or purpose, then I have failed a lot of times in my life. I was well-raised in a little island called Dominican Republic. I am proud to be Dominican.
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
My tenure in student government groomed me into an adept problem solver, negotiator, and critical thinker, always willing to help others. I translated these skills as a member of the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) program where I taught Chinese to students desiring to learn the language. Moved by the eagerness of students to learn the Chinese language, I spearheaded my own program, The Language Corner, to teach students not only how to speak Chinese, but to also provide them with an understanding of China’s history, society, and rich culture. Through teaching, I realized that I have a unique perspective to offer and that I should not put my self into the immigrant box as if I have nothing to offer. My experiences have prompted me to be proactive in my engagement with others, steadfast in my studies, and committed to achieving the success my parents worked so hard for me to
My grandma was the source of knowledge of the Hispanic culture for me. Through her sweet broken English to the eloquent way she spoke Spanish, I was always intrigued with her behaviors, beliefs, and values. One time she told me to learn Spanish fluently, and I responded with “it’s too hard grandma and I really don’t need to at this time”, and I’ll never forget with what she told me. She said, “Mija, it’s not about any reason that stops you, it’s about who you are. When you don’t learn and embrace the Hispanic culture, where I come from, you are not doing well. You blend in like everyone else. Si, you are half white, but that’s not all you are. Don’t ever forget to be proud of who all of you is.” I am proud to be Hispanic. The Hispanic culture
My parents sensed my troubles and we moved. Adjusting to a new high school took time. It was not easy making new friends and I continued to be lost. These incidents weighed heavily on my mind. My anguished heart refused to see beyond my own woes. A recent disturbing incident changed my purview of life.
At the young age of ten, I was faced with a situation that has had one of the largest influences in who I am today. My parents’ divorce has and still currently plays a role in my life that has affected my drive for motivation bringing diverse perspectives. At such a young age, I was filled with such remorse, discouragement, and fear. My educational abilities were collapsing, along with some of my common social activities. I was absent-minded due to my adolescent understanding and confusion of the situation. I became emotionally depleted coming eye to eye with what I was promised would never happen. My personal connections with my family gradually became diminished, from what I kept so valuable. I was placed in a situation that tore apart my contentment, arrogance, and self motivation. It wasn’t until years later, I took my position as a chance to transform my bleakness into a strong desire for greatness.
Failure is something that can be make or break your life. The one fact of failure that is ultimately true is that failure is something that can always teach you a lesson. Henry Ford was a wealthy man during the 1900’s who invented one of the first automobiles.“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently” Ford said. Henry ford built his first car in 1896 which took him about twelve hours to build. Time and time again Ford had to make cars by hand taking him hours, but he never gave up and continued to work toward an invention that changed the world completely. In 1913 the assembly line was invented by Henry Ford, this machinery was a way to mass produce parts; now you can build one car in two hours instead of twelve. I admire Ford for this invention and the years it took him to discover how to fail and start over again. He never gave up on his dream of providing every American with a way of easy transportation. Over several years of building cars by hand Ford continued to fail. Ford had to fail and learn from his mistakes to become successful. Failure for me is something that changed my mentality about life just like it did for
For at least fifteen years of my life, I kept my emotions bottled up, my secrets under lock and key. Not once did I even question if I could talk about my life to anybody, I couldn’t. Instead of learning to talk about my life, to talk about my feelings, to talk about my troubles and my hardships and my state of being… I learned to be ashamed. I learned wrong.
To be the person that I am now, I had to reflect and accept accountability of my past actions. My past is one that many would love to erase from their memory, a past, which remained dormant, until I found myself. The steps involved in regaining myself encompassed letting go of my anger and self pity. I had to look within myself and see my self’s worth, which lead to my belief that I ran away to college to forget my past. During the years leading to entrance to college, I became caught up with friends, cared way too much about my appearance, and became “that girl” who needed others to be happy. I lost sight of my goal, to become a lawyer. My goals were buried by my present materialization infatuation, thus my dreams, and my values, failed just to create a façade of which I came to despise. Through my journey and reflection, I came to appreciate family values and redemption. Like others, my trials and tribulations came full circle.