I was an ignorant child. As most children are. I lived your standard suburban life, with a 3 bedroom house, and an older sister and a younger brother. I knew I was Italian, and I knew that made me tan, but not different enough to not be thought of as white. Now, as a college freshman at a diverse university, I realize that not everyone grew up as I did. Let me introduce you to a girl I met today who grew up a year earlier than me. She is a sophomore here at the summer session, and she grew up as half white, half Asian. Her childhood was a bit different than mine, although she still grew up with a lot of the same things. I say I was ignorant because I didn’t realize some of the difficulties people face simply because they are different from the majority. Even as middle school, high school, and even college students people are treated differently when in reality they aren’t that different.
The student I met today, who I’ll call Sarah, was as nice as any person can be. She began by telling me all about the things she enjoyed and her daily activities. Sarah told me all about her love for tennis and that she played in high school every day. This was a time for her to get outside and get exercise and enjoy the company of her teammates. In a similar way, I loved to run track for my high school, because I loved the comradery that was formed by the bonds of being on a team. The best part about a team is that teamwork doesn’t depend on what you look like or what you eat for dinner each night. It depends on your skills and your willingness to work together. She also mentioned her love for horseback riding. It was her time to escape the dullness of a classroom and the stresses of life and she was fortunate enough to be able to forge a bond with her horse. In this way, neither of the two could see any differences between. My brother also rode horses and felt a similar sensation while doing so. In addition to sports, Sarah enjoys listening to all sorts of music on Spotify, just as any other normal teenager would including myself. She also enjoys working out at the gym to stay healthy and fit, which I do when possible. Just as any other college kid she likes to hang out with her friends on and off-campus. She lives your standard teenage life.
However, she differs from everyone else when it comes to her home. As a child, she grew up learning culture and traditions from her Taiwanese grandparents and mother. Her mother and grandparents are those who believe themselves to be Chinese, however, cannot say this due to the history of Taiwan. When China became communist, people who could not follow this fled to Taiwan to continue their democracy. Similarly, my grandparents fled Germany shortly after World War II to the US in search of a better life. At home, Sarah eats many Asian dishes such as dumplings, rice, lots of rice, and stir fry all taught to her mother by her grandmother. My mom makes pasta, but I mean who wouldn’t want some authentic stir fry. In addition to her family being Taiwanese, she is also a Roman Catholic. That makes two of us! She told me that most people expect her to be Buddhist and that it surprises people when they find out she isn’t. She even told me a bit about the Chinese new year. She told me they celebrate it every year and each year they have to clean the house beforehand in order to clear out the bad spirits. Another Chinese tradition she mentioned was about a dragon bracelet gifted to her by her grandmother and that when the dragon faced you, you would receive money and if away you would lose it. She also mentioned trips to Taiwan, and all there is to see including night markets, Chinese architecture and lots of Chinese dishes. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I’ve ever been to Italy.
Speaking of Taiwan, one of the difficulties of being from a country like Taiwan is that many Americans are ignorant as to what it is. Some have never heard of it and others just think all Asians are the same. This is one of the things that Sarah finds to be annoying. She feels that her country is under-represented and it is not just another China. She doesn’t even speak Chinese and she can barely even understand it. Sarah also told me that in grade school she and another girl were the only Asians in the entire grade, she wasn’t weirded out by it she just felt that it forced her at an early age to be friends with everyone. However, despite this, in her daily life she feels as though she is caught between two identities. She sees other Asians around and occasionally they expect her to be culturally similar to them, and that she may speak the language, and yet she can’t. On the other hand, she has her British and French background as a bridge to the caucasian world, she just finds it difficult at times because she is not fully white. Her only concern for Penn State is that they offer more inclusion and more groups of people with “mixed” backgrounds.
Overall, Sarah believes she has had a good life and she loves it here at Penn State. Her and I hope that in the future we will move past prejudices and focus on what the things that really matter in society. She may be half Asian and I may be half Italian, but together that makes a full person, and everyone should be seen as such.