What Would I Become, Ten Years From Now - Essay Example

What Would I Become, Ten Years From Now? Three years ago, I, together with my family, immigrated to United s from China. My family decided to move to US for the aspiration of attaining a better life. We chose to live in the U.S. because of various reasons. In terms of family life, the U.S. is a nice training ground for children as its culture dictates every parent to train their kids to become responsible and independent citizens. Besides, the value of sharing is never relegated, and students in schools are treated fairly. In terms career opportunities, everyone has the equal chance of attaining their aspired career as long as they strive hard. In terms of safety and leisure time, my parents can experience better natural environment, which is good for their health as they get older. The society, in general, is orderly, as each respects their fellow citizens, and everyone is proud of their country, especially the soldiers. Although the U.S. provides a myriad of opportunities, being an immigrant entails challenging adjustment in terms of cultural adaptation and relationship establishment. These would probably define my future ten years from now. Family Ten year from now, I am going to marry a girl with the same nationality as mine, and I am planning to have six to eight children. My parents always wanted me to marry a girl of the same nationality so that communication will not be difficult for them. Aside from that, having similar nationality would allow our future children to continuously embody the Chinese culture even though they are in another country. While learning many things in school, my wife and I will be teaching our children Mandarin at home. I will also inculcate in them the Chinese culture, values, and way of life. Nevertheless, I shall teach them one of the U.S. citizens’ notable attributes--their confidence of saying “no,” which I take as a positive characteristic, as it shows their individual stance on a particular issue. In these ways, my future children will be exposed to two different cultures that would make them open-minded individuals as they grow up; given that racism has been one of the struggles that Asian American face (Hayashino and Chopra). In terms of nurturing my children, I will adapt the authoritative style of parenting, a style of parenting that allows the kids to experience the love and care they long for while preparing them into becoming responsible and independent individuals as they grow up. In terms of tough decisions within the family, I will lead in making them being a father. Career Working hard in order to provide my future family with quality life is one of the objectives I am aiming for. Thus, ten years from now, I am going to put up my own business that would sustain the lives of my wife and children. The type of business that I shall be establishing would be the one that fits my strength so that it will be successful. The business shall be something, which I am good at, and which I will enjoy the most. Notwithstanding the apprehensions I have in mind in attaining such goal, I am pretty sure that I will succeed in that area considering my personality of being a hardworking and at the same time, optimistic. Even though it is expected to have happy and sad moments while entering in such kind of career, I will remain strong as long as my family is there, being my source of inspiration and motivation. I will strive hard to make the business fruitful, for it will serve as one of my legacies for my children. I want that someday, my children will continue the business operations if they will choose the same path that I shall be taking. Religion Ten years from now, I am going to be a devoted Christian, and it will be my one and only religion. My spiritual life shall going to be something worthwhile. I will share to my children Christian teachings, which doctrines will serve as their guide as they perform their daily life activities. I will see to it that our religious beliefs will be the center of our family so that there will be peace inside the house. Nevertheless, I will instill in the minds of my children that people have different beliefs, and those must be respected, for what will really matter is our personal faith. Hailing from two cultural and religious backgrounds, I think it is crucial for my children to embrace the reality that people vary in their beliefs so that they will learn how to accept and respect them; and considering also that religion and spirituality, in some degree, are indispensable from my own and my family's lives, identities, and experiences. Since Eastern and Western spiritual ideologies and traditions diverge in some point (Ano, Mathew, and Fukuyama), my challenge, as the head of the family, is how to let my children and family understand the interconnectedness of the two cultures so that harmony will be realized. Social Identity Management Having multiple cultural backgrounds is quite challenging, especially in dealing with other people and in pursuing one’s career. Being distinct physically as an Asian, I am aware of the fact that I am different from the dominant group, and this makes me vulnerable to racial discrimination and stereotyping. Even media portray the distinction of the minority group from the majority group (Aoki and Mio). However, this cannot stop me from pursuing my goals ten years from now. In my case, I will not make it a hindrance to fulfill the goal I have mentioned in the preceding paragraphs. Instead, I will make such status as my strength in dealing with my personal life and my career. I will take advantage of the opportunity to learn new culture so that I will become a person who has mastery over diverse cultures and traditions. This will be very helpful in winning the career I plan to pursue. After ten years and after being able to manage myself effectively (being a person with two cultural origins), I shall become a person who knows how to manage people with diverse cultural background. Being able to manage people coming from different cultural origins is important in making my business to succeed, since it is expected that as business owner, I will be encountering people with varied cultural origins, considering the impact of globalization. All of these things, however, will be impossible without good health. Thus, I will manage my health properly so that I will remain strong for my family and for the realization of my career. I will quit smoking, have a regular exercise, and embrace a healthy lifestyle. I shall become a person who has a balanced lifestyle (i.e. spending quality time with my family, reasonable time for my job, and time to go to the gym). Being able to manage all those things would mean a great achievement for me. Conclusion After ten years, I will still be leaving in US with my own family. Although my wife will also be a Chinese, I will teach them to learn to appreciate the culture of US, in order to build good relationship with the majority group. Although it might be challenging to face racial discrimination and stereotyping, we will be able to overcome them as long as we will prove to them that we can be successful despite our distinction. I will instill in the minds of my children the value of respect and open-mindedness. In this way, they will grow up resilient and empirical while facing the challenges and stresses being in the minority group. Ten years from now, I shall become a person who has the courage to stand between two cultures; and I want to train my future children to acquire the same, for it is through such ability can we attain self-efficacy. References Ano, Gene G., Elizabeth S. Mathew, and Mary A. Fukuyama. “Religion and Spirituality.” Asian American Psychology: Current Perspectives. Eds. Nita Tewari and Alvin N. Alvarez. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2009. 135-151. Print. Aoki, Guy, and Jeffery Scott Mio. “Stereotypes and Media Images.” Asian American Psychology: Current Perspectives. Eds. Nita Tewari and Alvin N. Alvarez. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2009. 421-439. Print. Hayashino, Diane S., and Sapna Batra Chopra. “Parenting and Raising Families.” Asian American Psychology: Current Perspectives. Eds. Nita Tewari and Alvin N. Alvarez. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2009. 317-336. Print. Read More