Being Turkish has always been a huge part of my character. As a child, I felt so self-conscious about who I am. I wasn't taught to feel this way, I just didn't like how different my life seemed to be compared to the other kids from my school. I had to take ESL classes while everyone else was taking regular English because I was raised learning a mix of Turkish and English. I was so embarrassed by all these things that formed my identity for some reason. I dreamed to be more like the other kids at my school, mostly having a ‘normal’ name that all the teachers could pronounce.
As I started to grow older, I started to become more accepting of my culture. I felt this in middle school. How long could I be embarrassed? There was no reason to be embarrassed. Although I was embarrassed, I still didn't fit in. No matter how much I tried to fit in, I was still raised differently from all the other kids. I never realized how strict my parents were until I started going to school. I was not allowed to go to sleepovers, I couldn't wear certain clothes because they were ‘too exposed’, even if everyone else in the world was allowed to. Now, I think that these are just some of the simple things that you have to carry about when you have Middle Eastern parents. Things that were so natural for every other kid were so remarkably offensive to my parents. As a middle schooler, I thought this was so frustrating to deal with.
Save your time!
We can take care of your essay
- Proper editing and formatting
- Free revision, title page, and bibliography
- Flexible prices and money-back guarantee
As I get older, I still am coping with their strength. I still acknowledge how my parents have raised me this way and why they have. As immigrants coming from Turkey to the United States, they struggled with a lot of the same feelings I felt when I was younger but much worse. When my mother's family moved here, she was only eight years old. She didn't have anyone to relate to around her other than her siblings. She had it so much worse than I did but today she has grown up to be the strong immigrant woman she is today, raising 4 children. My dad moved to America when he was twenty-three. Today I see him as one of the strongest men on the planet.
My dad always stressed to me that I couldn't make many mistakes, he never wanted me to get lower than 100. Although he always wanted me to not make mistakes, he never wanted me to lose my identity. My parents raised me from nothing, they wanted me to love who I was, but they also didn't want me to try so hard to be something I am not to fit in. They taught me how to stay true to myself. Although it was frustrating at times, overly it benefited me to be raised this way. They taught me not to compare myself to other students, and not to set these limits upon myself. In America, you can do anything you want as long as you give it your all.
I thought this whole time that their difference in culture would separate me from everyone else but I learned one of the most important American values from my immigrant parents. My parents were really what made me feel comfortable with myself now. Today I live to set myself no boundaries or limits. I set a goal for myself and give it my all to achieve this goal. But one goal does not stop me, after achieving one goal I continue and continue. How can I not? When they have given up everything for me to be happy and successful.
Stuck on your essay?
