Posted by Anthony Kong on October 16, 2009 at 7:27pm
Anthony KongProfessor Robert WinterArts & Architecture 10Section 1EWDYDWYDI am second year at UCLA. As a Chinese American growing up in the middle of a predominately Hispanic neighborhood, I felt disconnected with my Asian culture. Education was not a major priority in my community and I was the only male to attend UCLA from my high school. I sometimes feel, coming from a disadvantaged school where no one cared about education, that it is hard to compete in college. As a result, I feel that I have a different prospective of the world, and how others are quick to judge other culture they are unfamiliar with. During elementary, I realized how materialistic kids were because they made fun of my non-name brand shoes. I then quickly made up an excuse to cover for my cheap shoes. I now know that my parents did the best to take care and provide for all my needs. My mother worked as a seamstress, while my dad a cook. These jobs are typical immigrant jobs because they required little education. But, I admire that my parents worked so hard to support their six children. This is who I am.I currently work as an EMT in the city of Inglewood and love to volunteer for the Los Angeles Fire Department on my spare time. This is what I do. This experience has helped me be more compassionate and caring toward people. During my volunteer experience, I saw first hand the emotional aspect of death and life, while really looking into the meaning of life and what I choose to do with it. This is why I do it.
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