My Chinese Culture

683 Words3 Pages
In Chinese culture, society is the center of a family, where family members grow and work for society. The family’s reputation and behavior of morality are equally significant within the family. I personally know this because I come from a very traditional Chinese family. The young are expected to strictly follow this belief which is held in high regards in the household. This was the first thing that I learned so I had no choice but to obey. In my family, my only obligation is to protect the family’s reputation by offering help to the society with all respect even though the duty was hard, stressful, and sometimes impracticable. One day, my family sought to leave for the United States, upon where, in this new country, everything must still fall behind this traditional obligation. Thus, high grades in school are highly expected. This family law was very hard to obey and a trail of tears followed gravity toward the tip of my feet. I could not disregard this law because everything that I have done for my family, school, and community would have been abandoned. Yet, I longed to change this fact, and remove it from my obligation. One of the most important factors that brought me to this decision was losing my best friend; we will not be able to see each other again often. Because of this, a question developed in my mind: Is the core value of a culture more important than personal value? Although I wanted to change, my understanding of the core Chinese value forced me to previous disregard my own desires. Upon arriving to the United States of America, I finally made the decision to change. Freedom and the individuality of having one’s own thoughts are mentioned everyday in the U.S., especially within its own schools. Without a deeply rooted Chinese mind in my early ages, I was strongly influenced by the American culture of freedom. I started to do things that I wanted
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