It’s me who gets to decide who I am

I feel like I’ve definitely grown since my middle school days and I see a lot of change in myself from before I came to the U.S. to now being in the U.S. The education system in Asia involves just accepting the information without learning how to process or express your own ideas. I felt like I could never challenge the truth of what I was learning. But after coming to the U.S., I find myself coming in contact with people with so many different backgrounds which allows me to see things from different perspectives. I really love being here, but the process of change and moving from Taiwan was a challenge. I felt like I was experiencing this culture shock that I didn’t know how to deal with, especially living with my parents who still hold traditional Asian values. I feel like I was just in this middle-ground where I’m deciding who I am, how I think, or if I identify as more Western or Asian. A lot of times I feel like people see that I’m Asian and perceive me in certain way, so I feel like everyone has different expectations of me. Coming to college and learning how to live on my own has allowed me to realize that it’s me who gets to decide who I am, and no one should be telling me how to live. I think I see that a lot in my faith too where it’s no longer my parents telling me to go to church every Sunday or Friday – it’s more me owning my faith and deciding it’s important. I would say that’s been the biggest change for me coming to college is taking things into my own hands and actually thinking through things before I accept something as one of my beliefs.

I definitely believe the environment you’re in influences a lot of your growth as well as the people who create that environment. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about American culture through my friends here at SPU and have come to understand the depth of the culture because of that. The high school I went to was made up of people from very similar backgrounds, so being here just pushes me to grow. It’s been a very eye-opening experience. yes one can resist the push but you are just self-limiting. People might view you as stubborn and will eventually stop opening up to you. I want to be the person that earns others respect and became someone that the younger me will look up to. Not just a ‘frog in the well’ – always being stuck and limited. Getting out of my comfort zone, for me, involves getting involved in my community and helping others who are coming into their own; I can create an environment that allows them to grow and we can feed off of each other’s growth. I’ve seen this a lot in my work as a leader in Bible study. Not only does my work make me a part of a team, I often find that I experience a lot of personal growth as a result of helping others. Also, as a sophomore on the dorm floor, I think I’ve developed this natural tendency to take care of the freshman and help them out when they need to.