Ignore the Words of Discouragement

370 Words2 Pages
“ You are Chinese, even if you are born in America. You will always be Chinese. You will have Chinese taste, you will marry a Chinese boy, you will always belong to the Chinese community.” I have had these words said to me all my life. No matter where I am or who I’m with, there are always those older generations of Chinese that have stubbornly engraved the traditional beliefs into their mind of stones, believing in the Chinese superiority and always overly enthusiastic about preaching their holy words of encouragement. Despite my parents greatest attempts to keep it away, those influences always found a way to us. No matter what, we were still apart of the Chinese community, through relatives and friends. Despite my parents attempts, my own stubbornness and hard headedness continued my desire for art, enough to the point they accepted that this was my passion. They started supporting me in everyway, educationally through lessons, financially by buying me the best quality art supplies, and most importantly, morally. Every time during the “my kid will be a heart surgeon” brag sessions with our Chinese relative they proudly shared that I wanted to be an artist. Their response drew ugly comments of never reaching success, living my life by the penny and every conservative Chinese thought. They did not expect that their words only made me more determined. Born a Taurus I am stubborn and determined to prove anyone wrong. It only drove my artistic pursuit further. I wanted to show them that I could be successful doing what I wanted most, that despite being ethnically Chinese, it didn't determine my beliefs or desires, I determine them. Thanks to my parents I was lucky enough to know that doing what you love in life is what’s most important. If someone told me I could make millions by sitting in front of a computer all day doing mathematical equations and accounting,
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