Minority Struggles: Embracing Identity in Predominantly White Spaces

Growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood as a kid sanctioned me to perpetually become aware that I was different from my neighbors. Through some social interactions with my friends in elementary schools, I quickly descried that my appearances, such as my hair, eyes, and nose was different from my peers. For instance, my hair was a lot darker than most of my peers’ hair and the texture of my hair was different from most of them. “Grow out your hair” were phrases that lingered throughout my childhood days, where I had my hair at a very short length. Throughout my childhood, I longed to try to be a part of the dominant group in society such as the Caucasians, but I did not do anything to be a part of the bigger group in society. Instead,
Growing up I never really felt that I could speak up in class and show my friendly personality, for fear of people making fun of me and rejecting my ideas because I was a minority in a predominantly white schools in a small town in Iowa. I always kenned I was unique and did not want to do anything that could cause others to draw their attention to that difference. For any projects in school, I would always take the assignment that required little to no speaking so that I would not have to speak in front of the dominant group because the minorities were outnumbered in the classrooms. Although, I got along with almost everybody in my elementary and middle schools, but I was not truly myself until I set foot in my home which is where I felt most comfortable. At home, I could get loose and do anything without any fear of exclusion and rejection by
In high school, every clique is formed on the aspect of culture and race. Basically, you hang out with other high students that look similar to you, that dress like you, and with people with whom you feel you can somewhat relate like athletes, nerds, and people who are in the same school clubs or extracurricular activities as you. It was in high school that I truly began to have a sense of my Vietnamese culture. I ate all my ethnic food such as pho, spring rolls, and beef vermicelli soup, which is my favorite Vietnamese food. It was my high school where my outgoing and friendly personality came out. As a result, I became a more active participant in my school where I was not afraid to speak up in front of others in the classroom. I participated in a few clubs such as Spanish and STEM club and eventually one of the valedictorians of my graduating class. Although I associated with all races, I took a very special pride in hanging out with my friends in my ethnic group. Only there could my peers and I talk about the latest Vietnamese’s song by Son Tung and latest news about Vietnam such as when Barack Obama visited Vietnam or when a Vietnamese rapper rapped in front of Obama when he visited