Essay: Rutgers University is a vibrant community of people with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. How would you benefit from and contribute to such an environment? Consider variables such as your talents, travels, leadership activities, volunteer services, and cultural experiences. Only personal essays submitted via our website will be considered. You may enter a maximum of 3800 characters including spaces.
As a member of the Nguyen family, it is important to know where you are from. As a child my first language was Vietnamese but I quickly picked up English from watching television. Every year I would speak to my parents with less Vietnamese. My father was very upset with me. He tried to prevent me from forgetting the language by forbidding me to use English in the house. It was hard for me because no one in school could speak it. It was mush easier for me to speak English, a language that I was now used to.
I could understand my parents but when I wanted to tell them something I could not organize the words I wanted to say. My response would always be half English and half Vietnamese. My father would be so upset he did not want to talk to me. I was sent to a school near the church to learn Vietnamese. Every Sunday I had to attend this school where I learned the Vietnamese alphabet and how to read but it still didn't help. The teacher would bribe us to speak Vietnamese with candy.
My parents let me quit the class after no improvement was shown. To show that I do appreciate my culture, I used to join the church shows. Kids my age would be taught cultural dances and sing songs from our country. This was the only way to show my dad I was trying.
Entering high school, my dad stopped being so hard on me. I was allowed to speak in my broken Vietnamese again. Although I do not dance for the church shows anymore. My school celebrates Cultural Heritage Day in the spring. Students would bring in homemade foods and you could watch the cultural dances. I was the first student to introduce a fan dance in the school. Many teachers would tell me that it was the prettiest thing they have ever seen.
I look forward to going to Rutgers to join the Vietnamese Student Association. It is an opportunity to socialize with other Vietnamese Americans will someday improve my broken Vietnamese. I also hope to learn more about my culture that my community doesn't provide.
As a member of the Nguyen family, it is important to know where you are from. As a child my first language was Vietnamese but I quickly picked up English from watching television. Every year I would speak to my parents with less Vietnamese. My father was very upset with me. He tried to prevent me from forgetting the language by forbidding me to use English in the house. It was hard for me because no one in school could speak it. It was mush easier for me to speak English, a language that I was now used to.
I could understand my parents but when I wanted to tell them something I could not organize the words I wanted to say. My response would always be half English and half Vietnamese. My father would be so upset he did not want to talk to me. I was sent to a school near the church to learn Vietnamese. Every Sunday I had to attend this school where I learned the Vietnamese alphabet and how to read but it still didn't help. The teacher would bribe us to speak Vietnamese with candy.
My parents let me quit the class after no improvement was shown. To show that I do appreciate my culture, I used to join the church shows. Kids my age would be taught cultural dances and sing songs from our country. This was the only way to show my dad I was trying.
Entering high school, my dad stopped being so hard on me. I was allowed to speak in my broken Vietnamese again. Although I do not dance for the church shows anymore. My school celebrates Cultural Heritage Day in the spring. Students would bring in homemade foods and you could watch the cultural dances. I was the first student to introduce a fan dance in the school. Many teachers would tell me that it was the prettiest thing they have ever seen.
I look forward to going to Rutgers to join the Vietnamese Student Association. It is an opportunity to socialize with other Vietnamese Americans will someday improve my broken Vietnamese. I also hope to learn more about my culture that my community doesn't provide.
