The Lincoln Log

Growing up as a Chinese American is diffiicult. I was always taught to do well in school, make new friends with everyone and like all Chinese American kids, I was disciplined pretty strictly. Chinese parents from day one tell their kids to keep their head on straight and what they should be when they grow up. But all cultures have very different ways of disciplining their own children.

During preschool, I remember only talking in Cantonese and everybody else talked in Spanish or English and some other foreign languages. I felt kind of left out and, clueless when my teachers told me to do something. I remember that all the kids that spoke and understand a certain language they were in a certain group. So basically many kids played and would stick with their own race except for me I was all over the place and playing with everybody. But thank goodness that me and my parents have a really good relationship otherwise I’d be pretty clueless about life right now because I’m not a person that can learn much on my own.

While I started growing up into a teenager, it wasn’t one of the easiest thing because having immigrant parents who don’t speak that much English very well is tough. It is a lot harder to communicate with them and express your feelings to them. When there is something good or bad going on in your life your intentions are to turn to your parents and ask for help but you can’t because of the language difference. I have some Chinese American friends who recently moved to the United States whose parents are also immigrants. They have a hard time understanding their children because they’re not as open to change. The lifestyle they live and the way they were brought up is very different compared to growing up and raising an American born. Many immigrant parents think if my mother and father raised me like this so should you be raised like this.

When I speak English and try to express how I feel my parents can’t really understand and when I speak Cantonese which I don’t speak to well of, it’s not the exact same meaning compared to English. So basically the communication with my parents is somewhat simple unlike American born parents they can understand you much better and you could have deeper conversations with them. I would say growing up with an English speaking family is much easier because I believe communication is key to having good relationship.

Even when the language barrier gets in the way, I keep in mind that my parents work hard to provide my every need and want.