ithaca

Letter to Time—Embracing One's Ethnicity

Thank you for your article--“Between the Two Worlds". It is an extremely realistic portrayal of Asian Americans growing up in the American society. As the daughter of a Taiwanese graduate student who studied overseas in the 1990s, I was not exactly what you called an “Asian American” or an “ABC (American Born Chinese).” However, having grown up in the US, having gone to school in America, and having experienced a culture different from my own, I too, was a teenager of different ethnicity who struggled to fit in and strived to prove myself“American", believing it was the ultimate path to being “cool.”

Adolescence is difficult enough as it is,with most kids endeavoring to fit in the mainstream or popular crowd, trying hard not to divert from the “norm", trying hard to be “cool", and trying to stand out while at the same time trying hard not to seem too dissimilar. With the pressure of adolescence and the culture issue, I too, once felt embarrassed about not being “American”enough. I was ashamed to speak Mandarin while I had friends over, thinking it was “uncool.” I disliked the Taiwanese dishes my family had, just because my friends said that they smelled “weird.” My ethnicity seemed like another obstacle for me, obstructing me from fitting in with my “American” friends.

But now, back in Taiwan and reflecting upon my teenage years in the States, I am able to embrace both cultures and see the beauty of them both. Your article helped me realize that I was certainly not the only person who faced problems while growing up in the US, and I know that by reading your article, many Asian Americans will feel comfortable and proud of their culture and ethnicity as well.