| A Balanced Diet |
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By Rose Deng Vancouver, British Columbia Who are we Chinese Canadians? I am not sure. We are of Chinese heritage but we have come to live in Canada. There are millions of ways to define us and any one of them can be wrong or right, but mostly I believe that Chinese Canadians can best be described as a “balanced diet”, with a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. My definitions are taken from my perspective, being a Chinese Canadian myself, I can claim to understand the struggles we fight and the pleasures we take from our past and present societies. I am proud to be a Chinese Canadian, because I have always felt strong support behind me with my heritage along with the light of a brilliant future, full of opportunities here in Canada. My story began almost seven years ago. I was a youngster when we immigrated, thinking that my family and I were set upon a big adventure, with all the big boxes piled high; our only belongings in this new world. I had never felt so excited. I wasn’t scared my first day of school, for I had come to accept the fact that this is an adventure in which we have to start afresh for everything that we do, including speech. Over the years I have worked hard to try and become equals with my schoolmates, in language and in perspective. However when I was confronted with a new environment, my goals, and beliefs were all brought to question. The high school I enrolled in is a place where Chinese students stand as the majority, and so tend to dominate. As you walk in the hallways, murmurs of speech heard consists mainly of Chinese, not English. Their style is different than the “whites” in the school. They talk about musicians like Jay Chow, and other popular Chinese artists. They dress differently, consumed with only Asian Trends, receiving tips from Japanese magazines passed around at lunch time. I would never be surprised if they had ten pairs of Converse in their closets. They have similar backgrounds, similar languages, and perspectives as me, and so we are bound together. That was why I had always felt that I needed them to acknowledge me, because they would understand me. They had probably started afresh like me, and at some point in their lives felt the same fears and hopes I had, as I struggled in a new society, trying to fit in. My experiences would not have been scorned, or the fact that my family had yet to connect with the society. My insecurities were beginning to ebb away from me. A strange sense of belonging replaced it. These feelings and emotions were most likely what they had all felt when they met each other, but no, we can not do that. We need to continue to struggle to find a place in this country as an individual in the society. The Chinese culture has a rich history over five thousand years long. China is a strong and proud nation. As the people of the dragon we take what we need from a vast resource, and so should never forget our past, but only to let go so that we can march on towards the future into the mainstream society of our present country. I did not feel good about my new friends. I did not agree with what they were doing. I felt that they were wrong to hang on only to their Chinese culture. I believe that by choosing to come to Canada we must abide by whatever comes next in this new country. We would have to work hard to fit into the already present society, because we are the late arrivers. The language barrier is the easiest to break down, for all we need in order to reign victorious is time in that particular battle. Even though we may be fluent in English, it still does not mean that we understand the Canadian culture thoroughly. Being a Chinese Canadian is much harder than it looks, because we have to find the right amount of balance, using the best of our abilities to achieve the acme. Who are we again - the Chinese Canadians? We are a group of people who share the same heritage, but also came to Canada to make a common future. Although of course we can not forget our identities. We are who we are, and we are proud to be Chinese Canadians. We are the best of both worlds, and it would be our goal to learn from the Eastern and the Western culture, to become balanced and strong, equipped to achieve greatness. Background InformationMy name is Rose Deng, and I had just turned 15 years old this month. I have been living in Canada since 2001. When I came here I attended an elementary school in Vancouver as a third grader, so I had received two years of education in China, Cheng Du. I later moved to Richmond in Grade 5. My goals in life are to try my best in everything that I do, and to not miss any opportunities given. In general there is nothing particular about me, for I am just a regular high school student who is trying to live her life to the fullest. My submission was written in the format of an informal essay. It expresses the goals, and expectations I have towards my identity as a Chinese Canadian. The main point of the article is that we should never forget our true heritages, but we need to also take what we can from it, for it will assist our futures here in Canada. I think that by combining the Western and Eastern culture, taking from both their good points, we can achieve an advantage. The language is the easiest to master, but the culture is what comes next, and is much more daunting. |
