Premium Essay

Personal Narrative: Growing Up As A Child To Immigrant Parents

Submitted By
Words 536
Pages 3
Growing up as a child to immigrant parents was difficult. Being in a small town where everyone knew everyone was not familiar to me. I did not have any relatives In America. I did not have any cousins to play with. I did not have aunts and uncles in here. When my parents came to the U.S. it was like coming to a new world. When my parents found out they were expecting, they came to America to have and raise me. My parents came to America in 1996. Back then it was not hard to cross the Boarded back and forth. They decided it was a risk they should take in order to give me more opportunists then the ones they ever had. They made sure to visit their families in case it was the last time they would see each other. Three years after I was born,

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Hispanic Immigrants

...immigration through personal narratives, and many Hispanic immigrants like sharing their stories to inform others and give themselves a voice. Personal narratives tell us that Hispanic immigration to the United States needs to be reformed promptly. These narratives tell us that immigration will never end despite the current US government’s...

Words: 1424 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Blah

...Lower East Side Memories
: A Jewish Place in America 
 By HASIA R. DINER The Lower East Side and American Jewish Memory I'm Jewish because love my family matzoh ball soup. I'm Jewish because my fathers mothers uncles grandmothers said    "Jewish," all the way back to Vitebsk & Kaminetz-Podolska via Lvov. Jewish because reading Dostoyevsky at 13 I write poems at restaurant    tables Lower East Side, perfect delicatessen intellectual. —Allen Ginsberg, "Yiddishe Kopf" The poet Allen Ginsberg, born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, returned in his later years to a narrative style of expression, shifting gears from the anger and fire of his early career. In this poem from 1991 he also touched down again, after a long hiatus spent exploring Buddhism and Eastern philosophy, upon some Jewish themes, as a way of remembering the world of his youth. He described that world in one poem, "Yiddishe Kopf," literally, a Jewish head, but more broadly, a highly distinctive Jewish way of thinking, based on insight, cleverness, and finesse.     That world for him stood upon two zones of remembrance. The world of eastern Europe, of Vitebsk, Lvov, and Kamenets-Podolski gave him one anchor for his Jewishness. Thai space of memory gave him a focus for continuity and inherited identity, tied down by the weight of the past, by family in particular. The other, the Lower East Side, nurtured and...

Words: 6616 - Pages: 27

Premium Essay

Where the Gods Fly

...Where the Gods Fly The relationship between a mother and a child is birthed simultaneously with the child’s entry into the world. The child takes its first breath of life and displays the initial dependent human longing for protection and love in the presence of a mother. As the mother is everything a child needs when it is born, the mother also only needs the child in that moment. That bond is more precious than anything in the world, which is why every mother tries to have her children as close to her as she can. Every mother loves her child. They can argue, discuss intensely, the can even fight, but at the end of the day, a mother will always love her child. Because of the love, a mother has for her child; it is hard for her to let go. Some will tell their children how they feel, and some will just what do they think is the right thing for the child and hope that the child will understand. Motherly love is a topic we find in the short story “Where the Gods Fly”, written in 2012 by Jean Kwok. The short story is from the anthology “The Shortlist” which was one of the short stories that won The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award in 2012. Briefly, the short story is about a mother: fearful that she may be losing touch with her, and that she may be losing all that is inherent in her culture. A Chinese mother takes the drastic step of removing her daughter from ballet school. This paper contains an analysis and interpretation where part of the paper focuses on the...

Words: 1173 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Family Interview

...Introduction In this essay, I will discuss my experience of interviewing a family and constructing a genogram guided by their narrative. For this task, I purposely chose a family that is very different from my family of origin in terms of their cultural heritage. I will reflect on differences and similarities between our families as well as my prejudices and hypothesis that I inevitably constructed before and during the process. To identify this family, I had to approach some colleagues proposing to them to participate in the interview. Fortunately, one of them introduced me to her friend. Francesca had an interest in psychology, and since she was free and not much committed, I did welcome her with a cup of coffee to share more about the interview. After I formally introduced myself to her, I laid down to her the framework of the interview, and she agreed to participate with her husband, Matteo. Family context The family I interviewed comes from Italy, but they moved to the UK 3 years ago. I noticed that knowing these few details I was already constructing hypothesis based on stereotypes. I was dreading the interview because I was expecting to have difficulty in stopping them talking since I was concerned about getting enough information to construct the genogram. I also hypothesized whether being new to the UK makes them consider participating in projects like mine to increase a sense of belonging. Another hypothesis where I imagined them to have very firmly attachments to...

Words: 2003 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Mixed Racial and Cultural Groups in the United States

...ethnicity with-in the United States, but when approached abroad with-in another country, they seem to consider themselves as Americans vice African-American, Mexican American, Asian American, etc. (Perez and Hirshmann, “The Changing Racial and Ethnic Composition of the United States). Many Americans have multiple identities that reflect complex ancestral origins, tribal and communal associations, and varied ideological outlooks on race and culture. In general, people do not change their ethnicities as a matter of fashion, but they may emphasize different aspects depending on the circumstances. The United States is better off by classifying everyone by their ethnic background for one simple reason; to accurately report the origins of their parents, grandparents, and more distant ancestors. In many cases, knowledge of ancestral origins is passed along in families or communities, but...

Words: 2233 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Wife by Bharathi Mukherjee

...Mukherjee and the American Immigrant: Reimaging the Nation in a Global Context Leah Rang University of Tennessee - Knoxville, lrang@utk.edu Recommended Citation Rang, Leah, "Bharati Mukherjee and the American Immigrant: Reimaging the Nation in a Global Context. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2010. http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/655 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact trace@utk.edu. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Leah Rang entitled "Bharati Mukherjee and the American Immigrant: Reimaging the Nation in a Global Context." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in English. Urmila Seshagiri, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Lisi Schoenbach, Bill Hardwig Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Leah Rang entitled ―Bharati Mukherjee and the American Immigrant: Reimagining the Nation...

Words: 30269 - Pages: 122

Free Essay

Beginners

...his mother who had died due to a cancerous brain tumor. Now, one week after his mother has died, Oliver’s father sits across from him and tells Oliver that throughout the many years of his parent’s marriage, his father has secretly been gay. Oliver’s father, Hal, has been living in secrecy for the entirety of his life, because homosexuality was not socially accepted when he was younger and later his marriage prevented him from being free. Hal, now that he is unbound, tells Oliver “I don’t want to be just theoretically gay, I want to do something about it” (Beginners, 2010). Confronted with this Oliver reflects on his life growing up with two parents that never seemed to be the way he thought they should have. Writer and director Mike Mills experienced precisely this, when his father, shortly after his mother died because of brain cancer in 1999, opened up to him about being gay throughout his entire life. At this point, Mills’ father was at the age of 75 years and had been married to his wife for 45 years. Five years later, his father died due to cancer of the lungs. Mills wanted to share this story with the world, because he was so baffled by the adventure that he had lived through, as well as the uplifting and humorous sides that go hand in hand with even such sad topics as death. “The concrete details of my father’s life, the real struggles, and all the real humor gave the film an authenticity that I hope will make it more powerful and more emotional for all kinds of people”...

Words: 2890 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Essay

...Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014 Abstract This paper provides an overview of common traumatic events and responses, with a specific focus on the life cycle. It identifies selected ‘‘large T’’ and ‘‘micro’’ traumas encountered during childhood, adulthood and late life, and the concept of resilience. It also identifies the differences in traumatic events and reactions experienced by men compared to women, those related to the experience of immigration, and cross generational transmission of trauma. Descriptions of empirically-supported treatment approaches of traumatized individuals at the different stages of the life cycle are offered. Keywords PTSD Á Large-T and micro-traumas Á Neurobiology Á Gender differences Á Immigrants Á Treatment approaches The past is never dead. It’s not even past. William Faulkner The conflict between the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud is the central dialectic of psychological trauma. Judith Lewis Herman S. L. A. Straussner (&) Silver School of Social Work, New York University, 1 Washington Sq. North, New York, NY 10003, USA e-mail: sls1@nyu.edu A. J. Calnan Howard Center, 1 So. Prospect Street, Burlington, VT 05401, USA e-mail: ajcalnan@gmail.com Introduction As recognized by William Faulkner and Judith Herman, as well as by many other writers and mental health professionals, trauma can take a tremendous psychological toll that may not disappear even with the...

Words: 10490 - Pages: 42

Premium Essay

Warehouse Worker

...Roen−Glau−Maid: The McGraw−Hill Guide: Writing for College, Writing for Life, 2/e II. Using What You’ve Learned to Share Information The McGraw-Hill Guide: Writing for College, Writing for Life, Second Edition 4. Writing to Share Experience © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2011 13 Reading, Inquiry, and Research ■ PART 2 | Using What You Have Learned to Share Information 57 TANYA BARRIENTOS Se Habla Español MEMOIR he man on the other end of the phone line is 1 Tanya Maria telling me the classes I’ve called about are firstBarrientos has rate: native speakers in charge, no more than six stuwritten for the dents per group. Philadelphia “Conbersaychunal,” he says, allowing the fat vow- 2 Inquirer for more than els of his accented English to collide with the sawedtwenty years. off consonants. I tell him that will be fi ne, that I’m familiar with 3 Barrientos was born in Guatethe conversational setup, and yes, I’ve studied a bit mala and raised of Spanish in the past. He asks for my name and I in El Paso, Texas. Her first novel, Frontera Street, was supply it, rolling the double r in Barrientos like a pro. published in 2002, and her second, That’s when I hear the silent snag, the momentary Family Resemblance, was pubhesitation I’ve come to expect at this part of the exlished in 2003. Her column “Unchange. Should I go into it again? Should I explain, conventional Wisdom” runs every the way I have to half a dozen others, that I am Guaweek in the Inquirer...

Words: 9852 - Pages: 40

Free Essay

English Paper

...is a realist writer of today. Her work is inspired by her experience as an Indian growing up in America and never quite fitting in with both her traditional Indian background and her new American community. Lahiri’s stories express her personal encounter with evading her Indian heritage. She involves in her work the everyday struggles of being stuck between two cultures and remaining true to one’s self. The majority of her stories incorporate her main character having an identity crisis. Lahiri herself, as well as some of her close friends, battled with defining her sense of self as well as how it affected her personal relationships. The author’s stories are relatable in a sense that it deals with the everyday struggles finding one’s true self. On July 11, 1967, Nilanjana Sudheshna Lahiri was born in London England to Bengali Indian immigrants. At the age of three, Nilanjana and her family relocated to the West of the Atlantic to Rhode Island. Because her name was difficult to pronounce, her teacher called her by her nickname, Jhumpa. It was only a pet name that her parents called her, but in America, it became the name she was called by her friends and teachers. This event would mark the beginning of her struggle to assimilate in America. Her father was and still is a librarian at the University of Rhode Island, which influenced her love of reading and writing. While growing up, Jhumpa was often conflicted between both American and Indian culture. “She's struggled...

Words: 2335 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

Asda

...Name: |Date: | |Graded Assignment First Semester Final Exam Directions • Mark your answers to the multiple-choice questions on the answer sheet at the end of the multiple-choice section. Use a black or blue pen. • Remember to complete the submission information on every page you turn in. Multiple-Choice Questions (1 hour) Section 1 consists of selections from prose works and questions about their content, form, and style. Questions 1-10. Read the following passage, from "The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlote Perkins Gilman (1899) carefully before you choose your answers. You may refer to the passage as often as necessary while answering the questions. It is very seldom that mere ordinary people like John and myself secure ancestral halls for the summer. A colonial mansion, a hereditary estate, I would say a haunted house and reach the height of romantic felicity—but that would be asking too much of fate! Still I will proudly declare that there is something queer about it. Else, why should it be let so cheaply? And why have stood so long untenanted? John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage. John is practical in the extreme. He has no patience with faith, an intense horror of superstition, and he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt and seen and put down in figures. John is a physician, and perhaps—(I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind)—perhaps...

Words: 10762 - Pages: 44

Free Essay

The Impact of Early Education as a Strategy in Countering Socio-Economic Disadvantage

...The impact of early education as a strategy in countering socio-economic disadvantage Research paper for Ofsted’s ‘Access and achievement in education 2013 review’ Professor Chris Pascal and Professor Tony Bertram UK Research Team: Sean Delaney, Selma Manjee, Marjory Perkins and Manja Plehn International Research Team: Alice Bennett, Carol Nelson, Sarina Razzak and Maureen Saunders Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC) © Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC) 2013 The views expressed in this report are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of Ofsted. Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to Elizabeth Boulton at publishing@ofsted.gov.uk or Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London WC2 6SE This publication is available at www.ofsted.gov.uk/accessandachievement. No. 130155-RR-005                                                                                                                                                In June 2012, Sir Michael Wilshaw, HMCI, stated his determination to address the issue of  narrowing the gap of educational achievement between disadvantaged pupils and others. To  support this intention, The Centre for Research in Early Childhood has been commissioned by  OfSTED to conduct a review looking at the impact of Early Childhood Education (ECE) initiatives to  combat social and economic disadvantage, both in the UK and internationally.  This paper:    Examines the impact of nati...

Words: 16875 - Pages: 68

Premium Essay

Home

...What teachers want parents to understand Ron Clark, an award winning teacher from Atlanta, has a few things to say to parents about how they can help, rather than hinder, their kids’ teachers. He starts off with an anecdote about a great principal who resigned because of burnout, not from dealing with unreasonable students, but from dealing with unreasonable parents. This problem, Clark says, is pervasive among teachers and administrators and something needs to be done to stop the talent drain before the pool of passionate educators runs dry. Here are some of the basic things he wants parents would understand: Teachers are professional educators, not babysitters: If they offer advice, take it into consideration rather than getting defensive. Trust the teacher’s word. Stop making excuses for your kids. It’s not the end of the world if your kid gets in trouble, or even fails: Kids need to learn about consequences. Meeting with a teacher to fight a bad grade undermines this lesson. Good grades don’t necessarily mean good teachers: It’s often the best teachers who expect the most from your kid. Instead of mindlessly bad-mouthing the teacher in front of other parents or, most of all, your kids, take the time to find out what’s going on. Having taught high school, for a millisecond, I can relate to most of Clark’s advice. Most, that is, but certainly not all of it. The article does come off, in places, as if the teacher is always right. But I do believe there is an us-against-them...

Words: 3491 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Qualitative Approaches to Classroom Research

...Qualitative Approaches to Classroom Research 1 Qualitative Approaches to Classroom Research with English Language Learners Patricia A. Duff University of British Columbia Address: Department of Language & Literacy Education University of British Columbia 2125 Main Mall Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 Canada Courier: 2034 Lower Mall Road University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2 Canada Qualitative Approaches to Classroom Research 2 ABSTRACT This chapter provides an overview of recent qualitative research in classrooms examining English language learners (ELLs). I first present common features of qualitative research and review debates regarding research paradigms in the social sciences and humanities. I also discuss the role of triangulation and capturing participants’ insider or emic perspectives in qualitative research and highlight various data collection methods and ways of combining macro-level and micro-level analyses, particularly in ethnographic research. Ethical issues, difficulties obtaining informed consent in classroom research, and criteria for evaluating qualitative research are then considered. Three qualitative studies that have been deemed exemplary and meritorious by scholars in English language education are then presented and some common themes in current qualitative classroom research with ELLs are identified. The chapter concludes with directions for future qualitative research. Introduction Over the past 2 decades, research...

Words: 7460 - Pages: 30

Free Essay

New O.L.L. in Venezeula

...New Labor in Venezuela As I was sitting there at work searching around on the internet, I came across an interesting article. It just so happened that I was also thinking to myself that I need to come up with a topic for my international business paper. I wasn’t out there looking for the topic too hard at the moment so once I seen this article that that caught my attention, I knew that this was going to have some weight on the decision I made for my paper topic. The title of the article which I found on Yahoo was, “The Top 10 hardest countries to do business in.” Low and behold the number one country on the list that was the hardest to do business in was Venezuela. This peaked my interest, so I began a search on some of their international laws to see what it is about Venezuela that makes it so hard to do business in. Thus, this brings me to the beginning of the paper. As I began my search for the difficulty of business in Venezuela I came across a plethora of information related to the international business world and why their laws can cause problems for foreigners to do said business in their country. There is so much that relates to what our papers are supposed to be about in fact that I have to choose a select few in order to not write an entire novel for this paper. So what I would like to do in this paper is speak about a few of the laws and issues in Venezuela in some detail, but I would like to focus the majority of the paper on their new labor law which recently...

Words: 4373 - Pages: 18