American Like Me Post #2

September 20th 

Not exaggerating when I say this book is one of the most impactful reads I have encountered. A lot of the stories in this book felt familiar to me, being a first-generation kid growing up between the cracks of various cultures, while others were so eye-opening. It was refreshing to read these truthful and intimate narratives that described feelings and experiences I have had in my own life, but not quite the wisdom to understand them. 

At a certain point, this book started feeling like a self-discovery/self-love guide. Although I think I have developed my awareness of my identity a lot since my childhood, there are still parts of my cultural background that I struggle to understand. For example, my parents have always had a very intense attachment to our family. I used to think it was their devotion to traditional Mexican family values and I would get frustrated by their loose interpretation of boundaries. I always wished they would just chill out. The chapter by Roxanne Gay led me to a huge realization about my own parents and family. In her chapter, she explained how her Haitian immigrant parents "parent forever and unapologetically." She explained they do this because as immigrants in a harshly foreign environment, literally, all you have is each other, your family. 

"They [parents] are people who have spent their whole of their lives crossing borders that were, often, unfriendly, and unwilling to welcome them. They could not, I imagine, tolerate inhospitable borders within their own family, so they loved us in a wild, irrepressible, boundless way. They taught us to love that way in return, and so we do." 

This part of her chapter honestly made me emotional. It's a strange and remarkable feeling when you read someone's writing and it resonates so deeply, leading you to personal realizations. My parents are not Haitian, but the sentimental story of immigration translates. I shared this with my brother and sister and they were as impacted as I was. I love that reading this book gave me the opportunity to be moved by so many people's deep reflections about cultural struggles that I have, at times, struggled to navigate on my own.