The room smelled faintly of playdough and a loud crash rang from the back of the classroom as a tower of blocks collapsed. Nervously, I hung my pink backpack on a hook. My parents smiled down at me before leaving me in the increasingly chaotic preschool classroom. Throughout my first day, I heard an onslaught of new words. My head spun, why was no one speaking Chinese? Suddenly, there were “shoes” and “crayons” - two terms my mother had only taught me in Chinese. Every object my mother had taught me in Chinese now had a new English word. Education became a balance between Chinese and English. While in school, I was learning the English alphabet with the rest of my class; however, at home, I was learning Chinese numerals from my parents. My multicultural upbringing made understanding the western concepts taught in school while balancing my contrasting teachings at home difficult. …show more content…
Often, they spoke English at home and grasped the language quickly. Whenever I struggled in English, I was unable to ask my parents for assistance; however, I refused to be defeated. Instead, I went to the library weekly and read in all my free time. I also began to write stories. In fifth grade, I submitted one of my narratives into a local pourquoi tale writing competition and won second place. In seventh grade, I began taking accelerated English courses which challenged me to enhance my grasp on English. While my Chinese background began as a disadvantage, it drove me to improve for success; the strife that I faced from coming from a different cultural background built my resilience and intrinsic hardworking nature that drives me