Asian Cultural Identity

The Blonde When I started high school, I felt overwhelmed by classwork and decided that ignoring this stress was the solution. I would sleep in class, use my phone in class, and read a comic book in class: anything to distract me from learning. In the beginning of that October, I remember drifting into a stupor and scrolling on the mouse for eternity, reading titles of boring books that suited my reading assignment. I had two minutes left in class to select a book for an independent reading project. I set a five-second-timer in my head and furiously scrolled past books that my peers would choose in a heartbeat. With time running out I chose the first book that peaked my interest and emailed it to my teacher. Little did I know how much Mindful Work: How Meditation Is Changing Business from the Inside Out by David Gelles would change my life. Back up a few years prior to that split decision: back to when I was in middle school. I was the greatest disappointment to my family; in their eyes, my
In Asian culture, family is the most important value and through all the Asian stereotypes, seemingly impossible expectations were set for me. Being the younger sibling I was expected to accomplish what my older sister could and more. My Asian family is very close in a sense that we all directly impact each other physically or mentally. Before the catalyst of meditation, I did not realize the extent of my influence on my younger cousins. I realized that being the youngest in the generation they are expected to accomplish everything the elder cousins could. I did not want my cousins to fail so I made it my priority to help them learn. As a result, they enjoy learning and question everything, thus expanding their sea of knowledge. In a few years, I will teach them the practice of meditation so they too can experience the plethora of effects that derive from