They feel the weight of expectation heavily, like Cindy Pan, whose father believes she can be the first person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in growing up asian in australia essay category. Identity: Her identity changes as her grandfather passes away. She feels conflicted because she wants to speak English but there is also a part of her that wants to learn why her father was so persistent in teaching her the language. Some of these people like Francis Lee in An Upside-Down Year have arrived in Australia as a foreign place, growing up asian in australia essay, but one of promise and hope and opportunity. Consider these three questions; What ideas do you associate with growing up? Think about the following situations as possibilities:.
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For those who belong to mainstream groups in society, discovering who they are can be relatively easy. However for those who find themselves growing up in marginal groups, or who suffer from a strong sense of disadvantage or from unfortunate experiences, growing up can be very painful. Such people they often struggle to find who they really want to be. They are often forced to make difficult sacrifices in order to find a sense of place. Like so many of these migrants, I have discovered that there are numerous costs in trying to conform to a new culture and society. However, the sacrifice is not all ours. Our parents, too, growing up asian in australia essay, have paid a heavy price.
And yet, most of us have also discovered that there are some benefits in belonging to a new community. You just have to know how and where to look, growing up asian in australia essay. Many migrants who come to a new country such as Australia have to sacrifice many of their traditions. Often these are not appropriate in the new country, because of its views, values and customs. Sometimes I almost think we must have similar grandparents. My mother frequently complains about the loss of authority, because in Korea children are used to following their parents without question. Here, in Australia children have more freedom and are used to challenging their parents and choosing what they want to do. My mother believes that I have lost my respect and she threatens to send me back to Korea.
Such parents feel as if they have lost their authority and have sacrificed their relationship with their children. In the worst case scenario, many parents completely demoralized as they lose their authority. She gives up so much and yet her daughter becomes increasingly anti-social because she cannot cope with the pressure. As her aunt tells her, the mother is poor because of the expensive school fees. When I first came to Australia, I felt excluded, alienated and isolated, because of the clash of language and cultural beliefs. I felt a loss of self-esteem because my English was poor and I was not able to express my ideas and opinions. It made me feel inferior.
Not only that but also my cultural background led to humiliation, because I had to decide whether to follow my Korean or Australian culture. Simon is victimized and persecuted in the playground to such an extent that he feels emotionally violated and humiliated because he feels he is always the butt of derision. He wanted to share Australian traditions and become a part of the Anzac Day parade. However, he did not realize that he was being filmed. This made him feel extremely isolated and lonely — all because of the colour of his skin. It made him realise that just how hard it was to conform and be accepted. It comes at a high price. Although my parents want me to have a good career and become a doctor, I do not feel completely overwhelmed by their expectations.
I just feel a sense of relief banging out my frustrations after a difficult day. Luckily, I do not feel as restricted as many children of migrants. She is bitterly disappointed that her mother does not approve of her desire to become an actor. When I sometimes catch up with my Chinese friends at home, through social media sites or through occasional visits back home, I just realize how much easier it is for me in Australia. Even when I think I am studying hard, I realize I am never studying as hard as they are. This makes me feel guilty if I ever complain about my hard work.
Although there are many costs belonging to a society, there are also benefits. It is a balancing act, and sometimes you have to give a bit to growing up asian in australia essay a bit in return. For me, it is a balancing act that I have grown accustomed to. On the one hand, I go to the footy, growing up asian in australia essay, support the mighty hawks, enjoy meat pie and hang out with Aussie friends. On the other hand, I like to go to my Korean church, hang out with Korean friends and enjoy Korean food as well. I have discovered, like many Asian migrants, that the benefits outweigh the costs. I enjoy my extra freedom, even though I have to be careful not to question my parents too often. I have learnt to sacrifice my goals of become growing up asian in australia essay basketball star, and am working hard to become a doctor instead.
Perhaps this is more for my parents than for me; however, I know that I must keep them happy because they have growing up asian in australia essay so many sacrifices. However, this is not always the case for many migrants who have given up so much of their lives to make a new start. For many, the demands and the cost nearly defeated them. If anyone insists I go back to where I came from, Growing up asian in australia essay just count myself lucky to have more options than most. Return to Growing Up Asian in Australia. Return to Growing Up Asian in Australia Tweet. Footer For Sponsorship and Other Enquiries Please contact English Works Ph: or email: jminter englishworks. au Original artwork by Kelly Bull. Keep in touch.
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You just have to know how and where to look. Many migrants who come to a new country such as Australia have to sacrifice many of their traditions. Often these are not appropriate in the new country, because of its views, values and customs. Sometimes I almost think we must have similar grandparents. My mother frequently complains about the loss of authority, because in Korea children are used to following their parents without question. Here, in Australia children have more freedom and are used to challenging their parents and choosing what they want to do. My mother believes that I have lost my respect and she threatens to send me back to Korea. Such parents feel as if they have lost their authority and have sacrificed their relationship with their children.
In the worst case scenario, many parents completely demoralized as they lose their authority. She gives up so much and yet her daughter becomes increasingly anti-social because she cannot cope with the pressure. As her aunt tells her, the mother is poor because of the expensive school fees. When I first came to Australia, I felt excluded, alienated and isolated, because of the clash of language and cultural beliefs. I felt a loss of self-esteem because my English was poor and I was not able to express my ideas and opinions. It made me feel inferior.
Not only that but also my cultural background led to humiliation, because I had to decide whether to follow my Korean or Australian culture. Simon is victimized and persecuted in the playground to such an extent that he feels emotionally violated and humiliated because he feels he is always the butt of derision. He wanted to share Australian traditions and become a part of the Anzac Day parade. However, he did not realize that he was being filmed. This made him feel extremely isolated and lonely — all because of the colour of his skin. It made him realise that just how hard it was to conform and be accepted. It comes at a high price. Although my parents want me to have a good career and become a doctor, I do not feel completely overwhelmed by their expectations.
I just feel a sense of relief banging out my frustrations after a difficult day. Luckily, I do not feel as restricted as many children of migrants. She is bitterly disappointed that her mother does not approve of her desire to become an actor. When I sometimes catch up with my Chinese friends at home, through social media sites or through occasional visits back home, I just realize how much easier it is for me in Australia. Select one of the following writing Tasks words. Creative: Narrative about the relationship between a father and a son or Mother and daughter and how it changes over time. Expository: Personal reflective. Talking about my current relationships with my family and how they have changed over time.
Persuasive: A piece trying to persuade people to take the opportunities that they can while they can as they will not be there forever. Chinese Lessons p. Author: Ivy Tseng is Chinese with a Taiwanese father. Ivy was a bratty kid who wanted to muck around on weekends instead of doing Chinese lessons. She wished she had normal parents who could speak perfect English. Adored her older sisters. Storyline: Ivy absolutely despises Chinese lessons on a Saturday morning. At one point, her father stops trying and Ivy makes the excuse of having a lot of homework. She wishes she can belong, eat at a Chinese restaurant and eavesdrop on mandarin conversations. She feels conflicted because she wants to speak English but there is also a part of her that wants to learn why her father was so persistent in teaching her the language.
Now she is learning mandarin because she wants to understand her father. Themes: Belonging and authenticity. Pressured by parents to learn mandarin. Language and style: It is a first person, personal recount with a reflective attribute. She comes to realise that she is mandarin and nothing will change that. Issues of identity and belonging:. At one point she looks into a mirror and saw a Chinese girl who is tanned by the Australian sun yet has the blood of Taiwan and china. Belonging: Ivy wishes she could feel more authentic. She wishes she could relate to her culture and background in some way. But there will always be a part her that will question her why. Why do you not accept your heritage? Why do you not want to be different? What is personal essay writing? Personal essay writing is the easiest style of essay writing to do because it is about the subject we all know the most: ourselves!
When writing a personal essay, we write about an experience we have had, sometimes by ourselves and sometimes with other people, perhaps with out family or with our friends. It is often the most interesting style of writing for others to read and it should also be the most interesting style of writing for each of us to write in because we are interested in the subject we are writing about. What sorts of personal experiences make useful subject matter for personal essay writing? Just about any experience. Think about the following situations as possibilities:. a holiday you have had with your family.
an unpleasant experience you have had at school. life with your pet or pets. an adventure you have had such as when you might have been lost. your first time leaving your family. your first day at a new school. what you do with your best friend or friends. living with your grandparents. the death of someone important to you. TASK 1c. In no more than 50 words, write about two of the following:. The day I had to say goodbye to a close friend. My favourite childhood place. Now, choose one of these topics and rewrite it in words. Sample essay in the PERSONAL style. I had arrived.
The plane had landed and everybody around me was getting ready to leave the plane. I was still in my seat because I could not move. I was terrified. I wanted to go home immediately. I know it was a mistake coming thousands of miles and leaving my family and friends at home. I wanted to cry. But I left the plane and found myself in the arrival hall of Melbourne airport. Everyone looked so strange. There were some other Asian people but most people looked European and were speaking in languages I could not understand. My head was banging with the sounds of a new country and a different culture. I could not speak to anyone and I could not ask anyone for help. The signs did not tell me what to do or where to go.
I wanted to go home. I still wanted to cry. I took out from my bad the piece of paper with instructions I had been given before leaving home and looked for the person who was supposed to greet me and take me to my hostel. But everybody looked the same. I could not stay in this horrible, strange, unwelcoming place one minute longer. And then I did cry. Then I felt something familiar. I was still crying but I knew that things would be okay, soon. PERSONAL ESSAY. There are certain steps in writing any essay which you must remember and which you must always follow.
But there are special steps in writing a personal essay which you must learn to follow:. Just because you are interested in the subject matter does not mean that you can afford to bore your reader. Compare the following opening sentences:. I went there for a holiday. Do you remember a time in your life when you were really happy? Do you remember a time in your life when you knew you were safe and protected and … loved. This means that the beginning and the end of your essay should help the reader to understand what it is t that you are writing about. A good conclusion to a personal essay is one which tells the reader how you changed as a result of the experience you have described in your essay.
When I look back on my experience I feel embarrassed and sometimes I even feel hurt and angry. But I know that without that experience I would not be the person I am today. Writing Folio. TASK 1d. Choose one of the following topics and write your first Writing Folio piece on that topic. Your essay should be words long. The last day I saw my family. The saddest day of my life. Write a letter to your family — in English! Telling them about how you are settling in to life in Melbourne and studying at Taylors College.
The most memorable birthday I have had. Life at home with my family. What is it like being a girl? What have been the best — and worst — things about being a teenager so far? Growing up Asian in Australia edited by Alice Pung Teaching Notes by Laura Gordon. The sense of identity for many of the characters is tied to their culture, or the culture their parents have passed on to them. Some of these people like Francis Lee in An Upside-Down Year have arrived in Australia as a foreign place, but one of promise and hope and opportunity.
Many of the writers describe how their identity is connected to appearance and that sense of looking different, yet not feeling different until the taunts of the school yard make it painfully clear. This difference undermines any chance of fitting in and damages many possible connections to others. It is stories like Exotic Rissole and Wei-Lei and Me that reveal just how much human connection can define oneself and help to bring meaning to the cruel world around them. Baked Beans and Burnt Toast uses imagery and language beautifully to show how you might never feel like you really belong until someone reaches out to include you.
Generational difference. The sacrifice of the generation that arrived here, desperate for a new life with more possibility for their children, is not lost on the writers, the recipients of such sacrifice. Many writing pieces offer gratitude for the intention of their parents to offer them so much more than these parents could have ever dreamed of for themselves. They feel the weight of expectation heavily, like Cindy Pan, whose father believes she can be the first person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in every category. And they please and disappoint parents in equal amounts. Vanessa Woods and Diana Nguyen both feel the overwhelming disapproval of failing in the eyes of their mothers, while Shalini Akhil is blessed with the acceptance of a grandmother who helps her consider what sort of Wonder Woman she might grow up to become.
The sexual awakening of teenagers also causes the wrath of some parents who are horrified at the news their son or daughter is gay. This rejection has lasting and tragic consequences on these relationships. The typical embarrassment that teenagers feel toward their parents knows no cultural limitations, and for some of these writers, their difference was only exacerbated by the food, language, expectations, occupations and traditions their parents had. And like many teenagers, it is only time and the cycle of life that softens this. Death and Loss. This anthology shares many precious memories of loved ones who have passed away. These writers share their pain and the futile realization that comes with the loss of someone so significant.
Regret features prominently in many of these stories as the longing for just one more conversation, particularly in a common language, becomes out of reach. The demise of a parent or a grandparent can be a powerful reminder of the culture that is part of them, yet now even further out of reach. The passing of this generation who straddled two cultures, kept traditions alive and grappled with two languages is felt even more keenly with the arrival of their own children, or a return to a country that filled the stories of their childhood. Responsibility and Expectation. Growing up is often about meeting the expectations of those around you so that you can belong, identify and be accepted as part of the group.
When the expectations of your family, directly contradict what the other teenagers or children are doing, then growing up becomes even more of a minefield to navigate. These writers share many recollections of the horrid and cruel bullying they are exposed to in the school-yard. Their painful memories become even more poignant with the beauty of hindsight to recall them. Daily torture at school only ends for many with their after school occupations running their parents restaurants. And of course study must take priority over them all. But for others, even fitting in to the Australian way of life is still not enough to feel accepted.
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