Hi my name is Jia Jian Li or JJ. My nickname first took root in 3rd grade. My classmates and I were on the roof doing exercise. My beloved gym teacher was calling out attendance and had no idea how to pronounce my name. My friend rescued me out of the embarrassing moment. “Call him JJ, like JJ the Jet Plane,” my classmates laughed and from then on I became known as JJ.
I am not trying to avoid my Chinese heritage with this nickname. If my name had been Deng Li or Hong Li then a nickname would not be necessary. Because of my Chinese name people always ask, “Were you born in china?” I would reply, “Yes, I came when I was 2 years old.” To my surprise they will respond, “Then it’s like you are born here, you’re American.” Although I cannot remember my childhood in China, I consider myself Chinese more than American. My family and I hold tightly on to Chinese tradition, and when I group up I do not intend to abandon them. I even root for Chinese Olympics teams. However, I admit living in America for a long period has augmented the American side of me. First off, I cannot speak my native tongue. Forget about reading and writing it. Fortunately, I intend to learn in the future. I sometimes prefer American food over rice every day. When I was younger, I would force my parents to buy me Christmas presents. We had never had a Christmas tree in the house. Never. I think we ate turkey two times for thanksgiving. I do not know all of the Chinese holiday. Sometimes my parents would tell me not to eat meat when I would already have a beef jerky for a snack.
There is more to me than just my nationality. I am social and gullible. I am like Derrick Rose on the basketball court. I like to sing, play musical instruments, and laugh. There are many more attributes I have but my fingers would fall off typing them all. Most importantly, I am JJ.
