To begin, I was born in Thailand when my family took refuge in Thailand after fleeing …show more content…
I excelled in grade school and made great friends with all ethnic. There were moments when I was ashamed of my identity then I learned to control both identities as a Hmong individual and American individual in one life. That is to say, Schaefer stated “The process of being an ethnic to an ethnic who is a part of a larger society leads to...This is a self-image and worldview that is combination of religious faith, cultural background based on nationality, and the status of being a resident of the United States” (Schaefer, 2016, P.150). In the same way, I found Nguyen to struggle with blended identity as she shared “I wondered how many more layers of discovery stood between and true Americanness...At school I was good, as neat with my homework as any other girl and just as well behaved. At home I stole food, sulked in my grandmother’s closet…” (Nguyen, 2007, P. 58). I found that majority immigrants and refugees struggle with adjusting to two culture and blending their identities to fit especially at a young …show more content…
I had also wished my parents could speak and understand English at the time as I disliked interpreting. In particular when I had my Caucasian or African American friends over and would be asked to translate what my parents had said. As follow, Schaefer stated, “Bilingualism is the use of two or more languages in places of work or educational facilities and accords each language equal legitimacy” (Schaefer, 2016, P. 126). Likewise, Darlings is bilingual and had the opportunity to utilize both languages. To quote from We Need New Names, it stated “"I'm just proud that I'm finally talking to a white person, which I haven't ever done in my life...When he starts speaking to me in my language I laugh; I have never heard a white person speak my language before” (Bulawayo, 2013, P. 12). I am now proud and grateful to have the skills to be bilingual as my native language is slowly fading with the newer