Paper 4 by Angela Yu

Chapter 1

angelayu0530 — 2025-07-15 17:35:36 UTC

This part of the chapter gave me a new sense of thinking about how the difference of lifestyle affects why people immigrate to America. For my own family, my mom came to the States knowing she wanted to stay because back home she had almost nothing either way. She was starting from the bottom, but the bottom here in the United States was better than back in China. That was something my mom did not have. I guess I never realize how having something back home was that important because I know some of my friend's parents came even thought they had to restart with a life back in China already. They went back to the bottom just for a life here. The chapter brought a lot of new thoughts I never had about privilege with immigration.

Chapter 2

angelayu0530 — 2025-07-15 17:54:28 UTC

This part of the chapter is so relatable that this was my life as a kid every single month. I would always have dinners with all my aunts and uncles who might not even be blood related. This is why the idea of family style is how me and my friends eat. It blows my mind when Americans here eat a whole family plate by themselves. This chapter also made me a little sad since the more i grow up. the less often these dinners were happening. I remember as kid i thought these dinners were very annoying. I wanted to just go home since it would take hours. It is a big part of who I am without me really knowing.

Chapter 3

angelayu0530 — 2025-07-15 18:47:24 UTC

This is exactly how I felt being around my mom when I was younger. She would give me life lessons that I did not really care about and thought was very annoying at the time. The one that stood out to me was having my back straight but not showing my belly at the same time. The other part I could relate to was the utensils part. I still do this day do not hold chopsticks correctly and my mom would always joke now that if we go visit China, I would not be able to eat. It is extremely interesting how common themes is similar with different families but different version.

Chapter 4

angelayu0530 — 2025-07-16 00:40:16 UTC

I really liked this chapter because this is a common issue that first generation students have to face. There is a line between fitting in and becoming white washed, which is very hard to see at a younger part of your life. This is what happened to her where she found everything that was "white" to be good and wanted to be like them. However, the idea of her being a poser because she wanted to be white is what harmed her because she felt like she couldn't be herself. I think the idea of liking things westernized is not a bad thing but it is a bad for a lot of people. I feel as long as people are being themselves and being still true to their culture, there is no issue.

Chapter 5

angelayu0530 — 2025-07-16 00:48:39 UTC

This is something that I think almost every first generation student can relate to. It is funny because I am studying computer science, which fits in to the acceptance jobs. A lot Although, my mom wants these jobs for me and my sisters, she never forced it on us. In the end, most parents just want a better life for their kids and a easier job that allows them to be stable financially.

Chapter 6

angelayu0530 — 2025-07-16 00:55:52 UTC

This is something I seen more and more often as my family friends who are around my age gets married. I think it is funny that her wedding combines so many different culture and religions that people might think not work together. That is the beauty of being in America as new traditions will come from the old ones. Another thing that I wanted to mention from this chapter was how in the end her dad accepted her husband because he knew he made her happy, which is something I see from immigrant families after a while.