Back to My Roots

Chey feat. Mama and Papa Yang

I recently just had a paper due for my ETHS 101 class which gave me the chance to interview an immigrant of my choice. I chose to interview my dad. Back in my junior year of high school, I had a similar assignment to interview an immigrant and I chose to interview my grandmother. Hearing her story really made me appreciate what a fulfilling life I live. Coming from a land of poverty and being able to live comfortably in the land of opportunity is exactly what my family strived for when they immigrated to America. Without both of these assignments, I doubt I'd really delve into my family history and their stories and if I did, it wouldn't occur until maybe a couple years later. Sometimes the curiosity crosses my mind and I like thinking about it, but I don't think I'd ever really interview either one of my parents or my grandparents.

Chey, Cousin & Grammies

I'm a first generation American-born Hmong and I personally think that it's absolutely amazing to be able to say that. Not a lot of people can say they were the first generation to be born in America. Growing up with a grandparent in my home, I am bilingual and that's also another thing that I'm really proud of saying! Being able to comfortably converse with my grandparents or even just speaking Hmonglish (English/Hmong mix) with my parents is a complete blessing. Not very many Hmong grandchildren can communicate with their grandparents anymore.

Chey, Aunts, Grammies, Cousins, and Mama Yang

Chey, Cousins, Siblings, Uncles and Papa Yang

Participating in the ETHS 101 assignment helped me realize all of the hardships that my family has gone through to get on the both of their feet. I knew I had it pretty good, growing up in a home where I never went to bed hungry, had jackets, socks, jeans and shoes, being able to really open up to the both of my parents about my personal problems... In the essay, I really did want to write about so many things, but there was just too much that I couldn't fully interpret through words. The majority of my extended family are also immigrants and the fact that they all had to undergo hardship at such young ages are things that I can't even process. The reason for so much Hmong immigration to the U.S. was that there was a war taking place and families wanted any kind of safety that they could get. All of the collected research and answers that I got from my dad's story and my grandma's story touched my heart and I could not be thankful enough for my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and parents for fighting their way to America and giving me the life I have today! So many of us don't know where we came from, our history and our culture, but I think if you have ANY way of reconnecting with your family history, do it! A lot of people believe in the saying that if it happened in the past, then it did. What's the point of bringing it back? It definitely helped me define my character a little more and helped me realize how lucky I am to be going to school in a beautiful place and how free I am in comparison to those living where the majority of my family used to live.

See you next post,
Chey

Currently listening to Can't Sleep Love by Pentatonix

**These currently listening to things are song recommendations in case you didn't know! I'm not saying I have the GREATEST taste in music, but definitely take a listen if you can!