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My Experience Of Being Raised By Two Cambodian Refugees

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Being raised by two Cambodian refugees calls for a unique upbringing. I was raised with anecdotes about labor camps and starvation and seemingly heartless people. Both of my parents were raised in a war torn country and had to flee their homes through the jungles of Cambodia, facing starvation, disease, and the Khmer Rouge. Both were lucky enough to have left with their lives. After finding temporary refuge in bordering Thailand, my parents and their individual families were able to find asylum in the United States. My family came to this country penniless and scarred from their individual pasts. Due to how my mother and father were both the eldest of their families, they both were unable to have the opportunity to go to college and immediately …show more content…

All of these obstacles that I faced while growing up made me the person that I am today. I have learned to appreciate the little things in life and have learned to be gracious for the food on my plate and the roof over my head. I feel as if I have a very unique perspective of the world, and being raised by these two hardworking individuals has inspired me to seek higher education in order to later on provide for them the way that they have provided for me. My upbringing has also lead me to my passion for psychology. I was always told stories of these vile and cruel men who seemingly had no compassion, and this always provoked my thought as to how evil can be developed in a person. I later learned, once I started my IB psychology course, that this is known as the Lucifer effect. As a psychologist, I want to further research in to this topic and aid in the prevention of any future instances similar to that of my parents. Additionally, I want to help those who have been psychologically affected by war because I have personally seen the damage that war can inflict mentally on both civilians and soldiers. All of this has lead me to the path that I am currently on. My upbringing, and my heritage, and my experiences has all inspired my to receive my undergraduate and PhD in psychology and become a research psychologist with a focus on cognition, and I want to achieve this all through San Diego State

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