blog critical thinking #1 Notes of a Native Speaker

By reading this passage, I can relate my own story to Eric Liu story. Most of us came to the U.S so we could have a better life and end up being a successful woman/man. Eric Liu is describing us how he assimilated to the American life. He was born here, was a citizen but still had to prove himself to be an American. It is ironic how his own people (Asian) consider him as a “banana” “imitative, impressionable, rootless, eager to please” (p2) and how the white people saw him as another Chinese kids. During all his childhood he was confused didn’t know where, and how to identify himself. However he was never ashamed of being Chinese he just didn’t know where to located himself.  He made a list of how he considers himself as a white person, so I decided to make my own list of how I’m a black girl and also an African girl.

-I will get really mad if someone tries to touch my hair, little advice never touches a black girl hair because you might get hurt.

- Where there is chicken fried I will be present!!

- I take a long time to get ready

- I’m often late to my appointment

- Most of the time you will find me at the nails salon or hair salon

-If I see something that I don’t like I won’t hesitated to speak up

- I will try to avoid wearing dark color, and wear colorful close so my complexion will come out

If I’m touching my hair all the time that means I’m wearing a weave (not my real hair)

(…)

Eric Liu said “The essence of cool was the ability to conform. The essence of conformity was the ability to anticipate what was cool” (p3) in other world to be cool you have to know what is it to be cool, the appearance. I think we all went through it when you find yourself two different groups. One group is considering as the cool and the other is seeing as the losers, and you will have to find out which group you belong.  I never really belong to a group because I don’t identify myself as part of the winner group or loser group, I was friend with everyone and was the cool girl that you could always talk, hangout or study together.

Eric was an American but look like a Chinese boy, so it was hard for him to assimilate once he was in school and see his classmate. He wanted to have the perfect hair just like the other white kids, he wanted to be as cool as them and do the contrary of what a rel Chinese boy will do (math and scientist nerd). Like the author of The Lost Art of Happiness cited, that the environment is what makes us, it applies also to Eric. Eric live in United States but his parents still educated him like a Chinese boy, he eat with chopstick… His parents never asked him to be like The American, but once he goes to his friend house to eat he didn’t know what the American table manners are and sometimes he would offend his friend’s parents. In my country (Comoros Island) most of the time, we eat with our hand. When I came here I lost the habit of eating like that and when I go on vacation to Comoros my people make fun of me because I’m trying to be like a “miss American”. So stereotype exist for everyone of us ( white, black, yellow…) some of us try to prove to other that they are  not like that some of us take it as an excuse and act like the stereotype says. And some of us try to imitate other stereotype because they are ashamed of who they are.