I think I went a little off topic with the diversity topic, and I would like some feedback about what needs help :) Oh, and I definitely do not know how to end it haha.
As the only first-generation daughter born to immigrants from Japan and Croatia, my upbringing was lacking in the American tradition that most immigrants try to convert to. Rather than playing soccer or softball, my parents instead nourished my intellect and insatiable quest for knowledge on their respective cultures, and took me along when they traveled to different cities every holiday. Until I was in high school, I did not appreciate the cultural diversity they were giving me, and instead complained about how other kids did normal things over these breaks, like going to Mammoth or Lake Arrowhead.
While these vacations provided the backbone of who I would be in the future, at the present, they were reasons for other kids to ostracize me, and force the creative side of myself away in order to appear normal. This desire for normalcy continued throughout my school years until I reached high school and there was a fork in my path. As Robert Frost said, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." I voluntarily chose to uproot the path towards conformity I had been traveling on since I started school, and pursue an arts education at Orange County High School Of The Arts.
But more than anything, I wanted to feel accepted for who I was. On my first day, I met people who were focused on their chosen art form- whether it be dance, film or creative writing- and were strongly grounded in their own cultural background and arts, but were also fascinated with outside cultures, and brave enough to pursue any style of art they have never tried or heard about. Interacting with these gifted students taught me to how to harness my passions and channel it into a creative outlet, and given that we all were going through a different high school experience than most kids, also instill a doctrine for life.
I learned how to channel my drive to lead into productive outlets like producing music videos or television shows in my arts classes. I went to numerous temples, shrines, performances, and galleries without having the connotation of weird or bizarre. While my friends who continued their education at our local public high school often complained that their school was homogenous and boring, I could never voice the same complaints.
I was unsure of who I was in middle school, afraid to be myself in a sea of generic teenagers I could not relate to. My high school gave me the strength and encouragement to grow into whom I am today, regardless of whether it was deemed "normal" because the socially accepted definition of normal no longer mattered in the protective and nurturing environment of OCHSA.
Rather than focusing on the acceptance of others, I learned to love every idiosyncratic detail of who I was, whether it is positive or negative. My high school imparted me this lesson, which I consider most valuable to the core of myself, and that has made all the difference.
As the only first-generation daughter born to immigrants from Japan and Croatia, my upbringing was lacking in the American tradition that most immigrants try to convert to. Rather than playing soccer or softball, my parents instead nourished my intellect and insatiable quest for knowledge on their respective cultures, and took me along when they traveled to different cities every holiday. Until I was in high school, I did not appreciate the cultural diversity they were giving me, and instead complained about how other kids did normal things over these breaks, like going to Mammoth or Lake Arrowhead.
While these vacations provided the backbone of who I would be in the future, at the present, they were reasons for other kids to ostracize me, and force the creative side of myself away in order to appear normal. This desire for normalcy continued throughout my school years until I reached high school and there was a fork in my path. As Robert Frost said, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." I voluntarily chose to uproot the path towards conformity I had been traveling on since I started school, and pursue an arts education at Orange County High School Of The Arts.
But more than anything, I wanted to feel accepted for who I was. On my first day, I met people who were focused on their chosen art form- whether it be dance, film or creative writing- and were strongly grounded in their own cultural background and arts, but were also fascinated with outside cultures, and brave enough to pursue any style of art they have never tried or heard about. Interacting with these gifted students taught me to how to harness my passions and channel it into a creative outlet, and given that we all were going through a different high school experience than most kids, also instill a doctrine for life.
I learned how to channel my drive to lead into productive outlets like producing music videos or television shows in my arts classes. I went to numerous temples, shrines, performances, and galleries without having the connotation of weird or bizarre. While my friends who continued their education at our local public high school often complained that their school was homogenous and boring, I could never voice the same complaints.
I was unsure of who I was in middle school, afraid to be myself in a sea of generic teenagers I could not relate to. My high school gave me the strength and encouragement to grow into whom I am today, regardless of whether it was deemed "normal" because the socially accepted definition of normal no longer mattered in the protective and nurturing environment of OCHSA.
Rather than focusing on the acceptance of others, I learned to love every idiosyncratic detail of who I was, whether it is positive or negative. My high school imparted me this lesson, which I consider most valuable to the core of myself, and that has made all the difference.
