Stuck In The Middle

 Stuck In The Middle


    Being the first generation of a family born in America seems as if there are unlimited reign, freedom, and limitless possibilities. But kids living as children of immigrants in America know all too well that this is not the case. When your parents come from a country in which they struggled to exit, and are traumatized from war, they want the opposite experience for their children and want them to experience all the best. My parents share a similar story to Thi Bui's, but not nearly as intense from my point of view. My parents were born in a small country in East-Central African called Rwanda. In 1994, the Rwandan genocide began. War broke out all throughout the country, and violence raged throughout the small country. My father, who had left and fled to Indiana prior to the start of the violence due to rising tensions had been safe for nearly a year, but my mother on the other hand moved to Nigeria as a refugee, fortunate to be alive. Both my mother and my father came from such a hard life, and one so different to the life I lead today. Often times my parents are very tough on me, and want me to do things the traditional way, when I know that sometimes that's not the way things work here in America. Being the child of immigrants who come from a place so different can lead to being stuck in the middle, where you don't fit in with the traditional American culture, but in attempts to assimilate, you lose sight of the traditional way of your home country.

Comments

  1. Ryan CNovember 17, 2024 at 11:55 AM

    I like how your blog toke the stories and history throughout your family and spoke on the struggles it can create today and unfortunate pressures that coincide. It was a much different branch from how i talked about the history and stories of my parents from the past, but presents just as substantial of a dialogue.

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