Response to Passing Through

Response to “Passing Through”
I feel like any Asian American growing up in a traditionally white area of America can identify with Nathan’s journey. The whole process of becoming American is like being adopted into a culture—it’s all about eschewing ties to your past in favor of a life for a future. I know virtually nothing about my family, because there’s such a huge history of immigration behind it. My parents are Chinese via the Philippines, and other than my maternal grandfather, all the rest of my family was also born in the Philippines.

Being an immigrant of any kind is all about choosing one thing over the other. What struck me most was the idea that one can never completely become something different. Nathan would never be completely Adolfson, but he's never going to be able to return to his Korean roots.

Another thing that struck me was the idea that other adopted Korean children didn't realize they looked different. I feel like I've always felt different, and I've always been aware of being Asian. I feel like you can't help it when you're an American kid, particularly a little girl--you're just blasted with images from Disney movies and TV. I grew up wanting to have long red hair like Ariel, and blue eyes like Barbie. Ironically, I found "minority" Disney Princesses (Like Pocahontas and Jasmine) to be physically inferior in some way. And nobody else looked like that. It wasn't just about blending in, it was about being the prettiest that also blended in. Every little girl wants to be pretty, but nobody wants to be the "exotic" one.

I just can't understand not realizing how different you look. Maybe it's a difference in culture between Danish and American? Maybe Americans are just way more obsessed with their physical appearance, and maybe the sect of America (as in, the social class) I grew up in and around was the most self-absorbed of all.