Undergraduate /
"China was a foreign country to me" - Rice Perspective Essay [6]
"... Minixo Yang?" rumbled Mr. Gray, my fourth grade teacher. "Here!" I mumbled from the back of the room. "How do you pronounce your name?" he asked. "Minxiao" I replied. Since kindergarten, all my teachers have asked me how to pronounce my Chinese name. I cannot blame them, mainly because they have probably never seen such a strange arrangement of letters to form a name in their lives. However, the fact that my name is hard to pronounce is not the only difference between me and my classmates. I am a person caught between two worlds and two cultures. I was born in China, but I was essentially raised in the States.
Although I am technically Chinese, China was a foreign country to me. I saw the United States as my home when I was growing up simply because I could not remember my country of origin. My original idea of China was that it was the United States, if not better. With all the stereotypes we have of Asian Americans here in the United States, how could China possibly not be better than the United States with such smart people everywhere? Unfortunately, my naïve idea of China was shattered last summer when I visited my various surrounding family in China. Specifically, one moment is still etched into my mind today. I had just finished eating out at a very expensive, special government owned, restaurant with my aunt and uncle. As we were walking down the street to their car, over a dozen small children, probably only five or six years of age, crowded around us, holding out pans and asking for our money. My aunt yelled at them to leave, and I was stunned because my aunt is normally a very charitable person. When I asked her why she scolded the poor, homeless children away, she was surprised. Then, nonchalantly, she said, "Well you see Minxiao, those children are actually slaves to adults who make them wander the streets as beggars for money, because naturally, child beggars garner more pity than adult beggars." My jaw dropped. Where was the China I knew? Where was the world-renowned wealth from manufacturing?
With my original thoughts of China shattered, I returned home that summer revived in work ethic. I now know that normal people are not given the opportunities I am given. My parents always told me they had worked hard to give me better opportunities than they had received. And although I heard, I never truly comprehended those words until after that moment in China. Contrasted with the plight of many in the world, I have now realized that the opportunities I have received are truly special, and I would not do this situation justice without working hard. I now bring this unique experience with me to Rice, where I hope that this work ethic will help propel me through my undergraduate experience here and beyond.
Any advice for a better/clearer essay would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
