Describe the world you come from - for example, your family, community or school - and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
As a child with United States citizenship, born in Taiwan and raised in Shanghai. I am always considered an outsider in these communities. This situation frequently causes me to feel ambiguous about which community I truly belong.
Shanghai, where I grew up, is the most familiar environment to me. However, I still have troubles assimilating into the local community because I am recognized as a foreigner because of my Taiwanese accent. When I was seven years old, my mother and I were talking in a post office; a middle-aged woman grabbed and asked us if we were from Taiwan. When we told her yes, she gaped at us. Then, she bent down, stared at me and started to touch my hair. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "Oh! So cute!" At that moment, I finally realized how pandas feel when they are being gazed at in zoos. However, being special gives me an advantage of making more friends in local school because my classmates are always eager to chat with me.
In Taiwan, where I feel the most comfortable, I am still an outsider even away from my relatives. When I go back to Taiwan, my cousin enjoys telling me jokes that are very popular in the local community. However, every time he finishes a joke, I have to wait until he stops laughing and have him explain it to me.
In California, where I attended a dance party during a Stanford summer program, the way people dance stunned me. Girls put their hands in their hair making the sexiest moves and the boys were jumping and shouting. I never saw people dance so crazy before, and the whole room seemed like a zoo to me. I was so terrified at that party that I really wish to dig a hole and hide myself. However, after my friends encouraged me to let go of my psychological boundaries, I still enjoyed the party, experienced a different culture and become part of the zoo.
My world is a combination of multiple countries, which I am a citizen of many but a member of none. This lack of cultural identity makes me dream of combining these three incongruous identities into one unique perspective. By sharing my experiences in each culture, I aspire to dispel the prejudices among these countries. Furthermore, I will be proud to become a part of all three communities and a transmitter of cultures and social values among them.
However, I still have troubles assimilating into the local community because I am recognized as a foreigner because of my Taiwanese accent.
However, being special gives me an advantage of making more friends in the local school because my classmates are always eager to chat with me.
However, every time he finishes a joke, I have to wait until he stops laughing and have him explain it to me.---This is so funny!
I was so terrified at that party that I really wished to dig a hole and hide myself.
However, after my friends encouraged me to let go of my psychological boundaries, I still enjoyed the party, experienced a different culture and became part of the zoo.
My world is a combination of multiple countries, of which I am a citizen of many but a member of none.
Your essay is well written and shows your personality and sense of humor. Good luck with school and have fun!
:)
THANKYOU for your suggestions! I will definitely revise my essay according to your opinions.
I have another question, is my idea or dream superficial? since when i gave my essay to my teacher, she said the idea is superficial and i should rewrite it.
Thankyou!
"This lack of cultural identity makes me dream of combining these three incongruous identities into one unique perspective. By sharing my experiences in each culture, I aspire to dispel the prejudices among these countries."---If this is part of what your teacher called superficial, then she is not a very good teacher. A superficial dream would be something like having matching outfits for a Barbie Doll collection. Your dream has to do with cultural identity, your own unique self, and a more beautiful and colorful world, which all of us in our own uniqueness are part of. I know that teacher hurt your feelings, but just ignore that. I had a teacher in high school that made fun of a poem I'd written, suggesting better words I could have used...a few years later in college, it was one of several poems that got me a great scholarship for creative writing. So teachers are not perfect, many of them have no business teaching. There is a saying that goes, 'those who can't do, teach'. :)
Thank you for your support! You give me confidence to my ideas! I'm also glad that I dont have to rewrite the essay! =]
