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My Hyphenated Identity Essay

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When I was younger, I never worried about what I identified myself as whether I was Chinese or American. Now as we hyphenate who we are I feel lost as to what I identify as. I know I’m Chinese American but I'm also adopted so the culture I should know I know very little about. So consequently when it comes to my hyphenated identity I am in a constant struggle with the culture I want to learn and the culture I'm raised in. My mother always wanted me to learn about my Asian culture. She wanted me to sign up for Chinese school and learn Chinese. In addition she also wanted me to go to camps where other adopted children went. As well as she also wanted me to celebrate my culture. When Chinese New Year would come up in January my mom …show more content…

I wonder at times whether I should teach my kids about my Chinese culture or if I should even raise them in it. “An anchor will be dropped and a line of connection will be severed” (Jhumpa Lahiri, My Hyphenated Identity). I never wanted to turn a blind eye to me being Asian but I never wanted it to be the only thing people see. “What drew me to my craft was the desire to force the two works I occupied to mingle on the page as I was not brave enough, or mature enough to allow in my life” (Jhumpa Lahiri, My Hyphenated Identity). I’m not afraid to talk about my adoption, but at times I feel awkward talking about it. The hardest thing people ask is “ Do you miss your birth parents?” or “ Do you miss China?” The answer to both is that I’m not sure. I’m not sure if it would have been better to be raised in an all Asian culture or raised in an Asian household in America. The constant struggle I face with adoption has taught me to appreciate other people’s cultures because we all come from different circles of life. I want to stay true to one culture, but I also want to stay true to another. Even though I feel conflicted with my Chinese American identity I know I’m not the only and that other people struggle with this. I learned from adoption while this will always be a conflict for me, I’m still me. My Asian heritage only makes up part of

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