With no food at home, I walked over to a local Asian store in my neighborhood to pick up my teriyaki chicken rice. As I headed over to the checkout counter, I looked up to see an Asian boy, no older than 13 years old, helping me with my payment.
At that moment, I was suddenly reminded of what a refreshing scene it must have been for my family’s business back in the day to be greeted and helped by a young child.
“Hi, this is_____, how may I help you?” I would say it over 50 times a day, sometimes more during the holidays. It was one of those not-so-nice looking family-owned businesses. Well…unless you counted that golden kitty cat as part of the decor.
Some customers make fun of my mom, and they call it child labor. I call it “inserting” values.
Although I felt a sense of resentment of not being able to pick up expensive hobbies during my free time, I can now say I wouldn’t want it another way. Some customers make fun of my mom, and they call it child labor. I call it “inserting” values. Since my parents were the “newcomers” to the country. I was determined to learn English in less than 1 year. I was in charge of writing paychecks, negotiating rent with our landlord. I had to lie about my age to look legit. I was forced to grow up before I even knew it.
“Smile is the best response if you are in a bad situation.”
As the first-generation immigrants, it wasn’t uncommon to see kids helping their parents with their businesses. My dad was a hell of a hard worker, and my mom was great with people, she once told me, “Smile is the best response if you are in a bad situation.” I still don’t know how they managed to provide for me and my hobbies, but they managed to get their business off the ground. I wonder how my mom did it with the language and cultural barrier. But her customers loved her.
As it is with most Asian families, school came first. They never hesitated to pay for anything “educational” related. So even with helping my family on weekends, the one place I went almost every day after school was the library. I read through dozens of books (with images) every month because my English teacher told me that’s the only way to learn English.
My parents stopped needing extra help right before I graduated from high school. I finally had time to do what I wanted to do — earn my own money, travel, volunteer, paint, etc. I didn’t realize how many unique stories I had accumulated over the years until I graduated from college. What I also didn’t know at the time was that being a first-generation college student wasn’t always easy, because I struggled (very deeply) with finding out what I truly wanted to do with my life.
To all other kids who are helping their families, working hard in school — the first generation immigrants and college students — you are going to make it! To first-generation college students from the class of 2020, congratulations! You’ve made it! Keep believing in yourself, and you will have the opportunity to make changes in the world!
May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month — a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).
