I walked into my first day of kindergarten knowing only a few English phrases. In a family full of immigrants, my first teacher was the television. Since a young age, I felt the need to call myself an American. I wanted to fit in with some sort of idea that, in truth, had a very broad and flexible meaning. I wanted to assimilate very quickly, but as I have grown older, I have found my views changing. In Vecoli’s The Significance of Immigration in the Formation of An American Identity, he explores the definition of assimilation. Does it mean to completely shed your roots and leave it at the steps of the Statue of Liberty, or do we give a bit of it up to this giant melting pot that is New York City? I found that assimilation was both a blessing and a curse for me. I did lose a bit of my culture, but I felt that I was simultaneously growing up to be a part of this new American race. Being raised in New York City gave me a different definition of what it meant to be American, than had I been raised in the Midwest, and in my opinion I believe NYC has given the word “American” a different meaning.
In Kasinitz’s The Next Generation Emerges, he quotes one woman who says, “There’s a certain richness that comes along with having another culture to fall back on. People are always intrigued. They ask what does it mean to be Russian and you feel a little special to explain and it adds color to you.” Out of the three readings this week, I felt the most connected to this one line. Firstly, because I felt that I related to the woman about knowing Russian and having that culture in our blood. Second, this statement holds very true to me. It took me a while to finally realize the advantages of knowing multiple languages and being raised in a multicultural home. I think that over time, I’ve been able, as Kasintiz stated, combine the best of my parents’ culture with the best that America has to offer.”
The third work One out of Three by Foner was probably my favorite piece. I liked how it covered so many things such as education for children of immigrants, jobs that immigrants usually take on, ethnic communities and businesses, and other obvious but overlooked things. I knew a lot that was mentioned in the article, but it was interesting to find out facts such as how Korean businesses transformed NYC. I thought this article also brought up a lot of questions about the future that did not have an answer. One of these issues discussed the legal status of immigrant children and deportation. I have heard so much on the news about college students who were considered illegal immigrants that were on the verge of being deported. I think it’s a growing issue, and there should be more done to protect people our age who are trying to receive an education.
