I am an American with Chinese heritage. I came to this conclusion after many years of debating my identity. As an American-born Chinese (ABC), I was born in America, but my roots are Chinese. Though I’ve never done genealogy, I joke with my friends that “if you trace back my roots, I’m probably related to Mulan.”
Throughout my teenage years, my family has insisted that I am a Chinese American because “your blood is Chinese.” But I’m proud to be American because my passport has the Eagle on it, and it states that I was born in Illinois, one of America’s 50 states. America stands for so much of what China doesn’t. As the Declaration of Independence states, “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” We stand for freedom in speech and everyday life.
America is all about individualism, while China is about collectivism. Though I love the idea of both, I’m all about that individualism. I believe that some people can do things that can ruin the idea of collectivism, if done incorrectly.
Even my expectations at home and with my parents' friends are all a part of collectivism. I go home and I’m expected to get A's or B's. Anything below a B is considered a failure, unless specified otherwise. I am expected to eat with chopsticks and eat what everyone else eats without complaint. When my parents have parties, I am expected to not be with the younger kids, but instead be with the adults to “understand the pharmaceutical and biomedical world in order to help my chances of getting a job.” My parents lost face when I didn't make it to prestigious colleges like Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science or University of Washington-Madison.
Here in college, individualism is celebrated. College is all about doing what you want and not about what your parents want. Parents usually drop their kids off on their first day of freshman year and expect them to do well without bothering or nagging their kids. That’s what I wish I had every day.
Overall, I love being Chinese and American, and I wouldn’t trade a single thing. The Chinese have had 5,000 years of written history, and who knows how long of a history before it was recorded. They were famous for their inventions and innovations in the Tang Dynasty. Before the Silk Road, they kept all these inventions to themselves, but I’m glad they shared it with the world. The Americans had a history of freedom that we are still fighting for today. I am proud to say that I call myself American with a Chinese heritage.
