Growing up learning, being disciplined, and being taken care of by immigrant parents makes us unique compared to other kids that grew up with western parents. There are some good differences, and bad differences. But what makes us unique is our experiences and relationships we have with our immigrant parents. I know many immigrant children can relate when you hear your parents say “You should be like them.” Always being compared to a family member, friend, or even a celebrity. And this can affect you in how you interpret it. As “I’m not good enough” or “I should strive for that” This is only one example from many on how our experiences with immigrant parents define us.
What we experience from the ways of our immigrant parents are not a surprise. If you ever feel like your parents are always disappointed in you, then maybe they feel that you can do better and they just want you to succeed. If you feel like they are so strict, maybe they don’t want you to go on the wrong path because they worked so hard for you to be successful in this new country. And I know a lot of immigrant children can relate when parents say: how privileged we are to be in these good situations and they had such a hard life in their homeland. Maybe they’re trying to say not to take things for granted because we had way more than they ever had growing up. So what am I trying to get to? What I’m trying to explain is that the things we experience from our immigrant parents are so valuable because of what it teaches us. These experiences help define our core values and how we perceive life. That’s what makes us so unique, is how our parents were teaching us how to be good citizens without us or even them knowing.
All in all, We should treasure our experiences with our parents and learn from them. All they want is us, their immigrant children to succeed in a life where it is possible. We have many more opportunities than our immigrant parents could ever had growing up. And these experiences will give us the qualities to achieve that. Yes, growing up with immigrant parents can be difficult. All the rules, comparing and punishment from them can impact us negatively. But they don’t intend that. They just want what is best for us. So to all my immigrant pals that are going through this right now, don’t worry. You are in the right hands.
Shower Thoughts 