Immigrant Child Essay

The Identity of An Immigrant’s Child As people transition from childhood to adulthood, their self identity is gained through their careers, achievements, religion etc. Although, it’s not so easy to just simply find your identity. It is said that most teenagers go through an identity crisis on their journey to find their identity. This is true. However, I believe it can be more difficult for immigrant teenagers or even teenager with immigrant parents. The children of immigrant parents have difficulty finding their identity because of the cultural differences between their native culture and American culture. This will indubitably leave the children of immigrants confused. As a daughter of Peruvian immigrant parents, I grew up in a household …show more content…
So even outside of my household, I was still immersed in hispanic culture at school. However, that changed when I entered middle school. The middle school I attended was occupied by mostly American students. This was where I learned that not everyone had the same culture as me and my family. Student’s lunch boxes were packed with either lunchables, sandwiches, yogurt etc. While my lunch box had ceviche and tallarin verde. Thanksgiving was an American holiday my classmates celebrated but my family didn’t. Behaviors among students was more reserved and rather cold. Whereas, Peruvians are more friendly and quick to make friends. In just a short amount of time, I learned what American culture was. I was fascinated by American culture. It was something completely different from my …show more content…
He was completely immersed in the Chinese culture and felt like he belonged. This play was important to me because even though Benjamin is fully American, he identified as a Chinese-American. He accepted his two cultural upbringings. I related to this passage with my own experiences walking through Lima, Peru. I remember as I walked down Miraflores, I was drowned in multiple vendors trying to catch my attention. Turning the corner of each street, I caught a new scent of pure Peruvian food. I recall the countless of stray dogs trying to find scraps of food. My ears rang from the loud horns of cars trying to make its way through traffic. I can even remember the horrible smell of pollution. Although, this might sound like an awful place to everyone else, I consider it my home.
Making this relation made me realize that I should appreciate my Peruvian cultural upbringing. I should be proud and never ashamed of my culture because it isn’t like American culture. I learned to balance my two cultures and as a result I found my identity. I am