Being first-generation American raised is like playing a game of tug-of-war, where your identity is being tugged by your homeland upbringing and American culture. Whether you came to this country at a young age or have parents who immigrated before you were born, there are certain struggles/blessings only first-gen kids will understand.
1. When people ask, "where are you from?"
Are you asking where I was born, where my parents were born, or where I was raised? Because all three have different answers. Also, are you asking this because I look foreign or because you're genuinely curious? I'm from Brooklyn, raised in Kansas, and my parents are Salvadorian. See, there's never just one answer to this question.
Having grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, etc. who are walking history books
Chances are, you probably have a family member who has survived a war, a revolution, a coup or a regime change. Your family members can tell you stories that bring to life what growing up in their homeland was truly like. Perhaps you've been fortunate enough to visit and see for yourself where your ancestors came from, or maybe you too are a walking history book and remember what life was like before you came to the States.
Always being too American, or not American enough
If you were to hop on a plane and go to the homeland, family members and natives would consider you "American," yet some Americans consider you alien. It's like you're caught in this interstitial space where you'll never be fully anything.
Speaking two languages
Although not all first-gen kids speak two languages, you probably understand enough to be able to greet your grandparents and dodge a slipper while your mom wakes the dead with her hallelujahs. If you are able to speak two languages, remember to thank your parents. Your bilingual skills probably came in handy when translating at parent-teacher conferences, doctors offices and reading the mail (they'll also come in handy when applying for jobs #blessed).
Food, music, clothing and "unique" television shows made your childhood one of a kind
Recipes that have been passed down generation after generation, music that you learned the dances to straight out the womb, clothing that has been sent over/brought from the motherland, television shows where the gameshow host was an 80 year-old man with 20 year-old models and a masked trumpet player, and soap operas with lots of hair pulling and even more love triangles seemed to make up your childhood. Oh, the memories.
You carry the weight of one day providing for your guardians
Your life is the result of trailblazers deciding to seek a better life. Someone risked their life and spent precious resources in order to come into this country. Because of the sacrifices those before you made, you are where you are today. It's an unspoken responsibility that one day you will give back to those who gave you so much.
You are both American and whatever blood boils through your veins. Your identity was never meant to fit into just one category anyway. So keep on being a beautiful bicultural swirl.
