Often times, the reasonings behind immigration are similar. Safety, educational opportunities, or stable jobs tend to be very popular motivations for leaving one’s own country and toward the United States. David’s family, the Chungs, began their journey with these same reasonings in mind. Their ability to be safe and to obtain stable jobs are the reasons why they value America so much; however, while he does cherish these opportunities, David values America for another reason: its diversity. David loves being able to look around a room and see various races and ethnicities because, as a result, he himself does not feel self conscious [ or as he put it: “awkward”] about being different; he knows that everyone he sees is different.
David’s parents, who are originally from a village in China, decided to leave their home country for economic opportunities. Their small village was based on agriculture and, as a result, they were unable to have the lifestyle that they had hoped for with the little money that they were gaining. At this point, his parents moved to Panama, which is where David was born. David moved to the United States, from Panama, when he was four or five years old. He was too young to remember any expectations he had of America, but he did assume he felt comforted by the fact that they were moving to a safer place.
[David recalling his unfortunate event and his hopes for the United States]
As a child, there was no way for David to know that his journey to America was going to provoke something just as powerful…
David’s first birthday celebration in the United States
David is very grateful to have had the opportunity to come to the United States because it allowed him to not only identify with one culture, but two. Being that David was not born in China, he inherited most of his Chinese culture from his parents. However, since David has lived in America “for ages, forever basically”, he definitely identifies with the American culture as well. “In fact”, David said: “I identify more with America than that of Panama or China.”
The difficulty of coping with two identities have differed depending on what stage in his academic life he was in. His elementary school, for example, was located near his Chinese neighborhood. As a result, his school heavily enforced the Chinese culture, just as his parents were doing at home. Being that he was not exposed to the American culture yet, he identified more with his Chinese identity at this point in his life.
A close up of David’s [second from the left] elementary school picture.
[David recalls his time in elementary school. Being that the vast majority of the students were Chinese, the school’s predominant focus was ensuring that the children learned about their culture through these celebrations]
David first became exposed to the diversity of the United States in middle school. There were so many different races and ethnicities around him, that he was unclear as to which was the “real” American culture. “At that time I was learning to accept other cultures. So at that time, it was difficult to identify with the American culture.” David described this experience as one of the most confusing points in his life. However, it also served as his wake up call. “ I met all of these different friends and I made close friends with people of different cultures. And then that sort of told me that: ‘oh, I’m in America’” It was then that David made the association: America= Diversity.
Throughout his early years in Panama and his time in elementary school, David had never been in such a diverse place before. It felt so strange to him. However, seeing such diversity became ordinary for him by the time he entered high school.
“At that time I got used to the diversity and, because it was such a big school, I got used to all cultures completely.” Now that he is in Baruch, David has noticed its diversity and said that his positive views on diversity have “carried on”. David is no longer confused by the country’s diversity, but accepting of it.
David’s [center] high school graduating class
The diversity of the country is what has always allowed David to feel assured in his place in the United States:
Over the years, David has realized that the “real” American culture is not hidden behind all of the other cultures that he has encountered; he does not need to try and figure out which is the “correct” one. Instead, all of these cultures melt together to make one American identity. David has developed the mentality of “it’s okay to be different, because everyone here is different”. He believes that him being diverse is what allowed him to gain his American identity; it did not prevent him from doing so.
David’s journey in the United States has allowed him the opportunity to interact with people outside the Chinese and Panamanian community. These experiences have made David a much more open minded person.
The ability to communicate with other kinds of people was a gift that only America’s diversity could have given to David. It is something that he will always be thankful for and value.
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