A01
Week 3
OiYan Poon and Ajani Byrd's piece, "Beyond Tiger Mom Anxiety: Ethnic, Gender and Generational Differences in Asian American College Access and Choices" dives into the college application and selection processes of "1.5" and 2nd generation Asian Americans. They go into the statistics of the influences upon which a group of Asian Americans were surveyed on what influenced their college choices the most.
For my entry, I'll address Poon and Byrd's journal, as it really resonated with me. The whole "tiger mom" and Asian Americans in college concepts really hit a sore spot for me. I'm a freshman this year, so the whole college application process is still very fresh in my mind. It was extremely nerve-wracking. My elder sister is a UC Berkeley graduate, as a few other members of my extended family. I remember in middle school and early high school, my parents, especially my mother, would really try to push UC Berkeley on me. Being the tiger mom she was, this was THE top school in her eyes. It was close to home, it was prestigious, it was UC Berkeley. She pushed me to excel in school, above and beyond, so I would also be admitted to UCB. In my own naive fantasy/goal at the time, I proudly announced to my mother that I wanted to go to Stanford instead. I just wanted her to see me as an equal to my sister. Throughout high school, I would try to replicate her path. I took the same AP courses, I held the same leadership positions. I was a part of all these college success programs. Come junior year, I started to explore things that I liked, not according to the "plan". I even played on the softball team (I am very un-athletic).
At the time to apply to college, I applied to all the "top" UC's. Then acceptances came in. Every single school I applied to rejected me. The only "acceptance" I received was a waitlist from UC Davis. It was really starting to feel like the universe was playing a sick joke on me. Then my mother started pressing me about what schools I got into. I avoided the question as long as possible until she finally got the news from me that I basically got into no schools. She started to blame me for being "too dumb" and that I should've never played softball. I was hurt. I started to feel like she turned her back on me. Between the time that acceptances came out, and Decision Day, my mother constantly reminded me of my "failure". She would lament that I would only end up at a community college and never amount to anything. "What happened to going to Stanford?" she'd cry. I would try to explain to her how transferring worked, but I always got shut out. I felt like my family just stopped believing in me, like I was an Asian failure. When I finally received word from UCD that I was admitted, I kept it a secret from my parents for as long as I could. At the time I thought, "Why would I share my accomplishments with someone who didn't want to support me in my"failures?"
I was in a lot of pain then, but obviously, I'm content with where I am now. However, reading this week's articles brought back a lot of memories that still haven't been quite settled or I have left "at peace" just yet. However, I know my story may seem familiar to so many others out there, Asian American or not.
Question: What ways can minorities come together instead of pit one against each other? How do Asian parents perceive private, liberal arts now? Is it more of prestige or "it's still a college" kind of attitude?
I chose this video because I remember watching it as a young teen, thinking it was really informative (and funny). This was one of the first instances I really started to understand racial inequality. This also pertains to this weeks theme on Asian Americans in universities, and relates to Allred's journal.
References:
Allred, Nancy Chung. Asian Americans and Affirmative Action: From Yellow Peril to Model
Minority and Back Again, 14 Asian Am. L.J. 57 (2007).
D. (2011, March 14). Retrieved April 13, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOGpGoEMu2s
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