For you minorities out there, how do you show your pride? Options

[Tung]

Living in a predominantly Asian community, I find that it's easy for a lot of people to stay here and never have to assert their Asian-consciousness. However for most of us, colleges, careers, and etc. force us out into the predominantly white world outside of our neighborhood.

Often when a lot of young Asian-Americans leave, they get a culture shock. Hey, the world is racist? What there's discrimination? What do you mean there's a different between you and me cause your skin's different and you grew up differently than me?

So how do people assert themselves in these new situations and be proud of their heritage? They can't a lot of the time and don't know how, and let themselves get pushed around and end up in the background.

Or else they end up clumping together with other Asians in the area, but sometimes that isn't an option.

So what's there do to? How do you stand up to the environment around you?

[queen]

opposite for me. i grew up in a predominantly black/spanish community. i went to a private school for elementary/middle/junior high, and i was the only asian in my class. all the other asians at school also knew each other 'cause there were only a handful of us, and all our parents formed our own little asian community lol. i guess, in this instance, that's how i kept my asian disposition/nature in that particular setting.

when i moved on to high school, it was very different for me. on one hand, i was glad there were more asians i could associate with. on the other, these other asians didn't have the same upbringing as i did. they all either grew up in queens or brooklyn in predominantly asian communities; therefore, it made me feel isolated from them sometimes. that's when i learned that i don't like or get along with certain groups/types of asian people, and that i felt way more special back when i was the only asian in class.

it all came together though. i garnered a good variety of friends, including many asians. i guess in order to survive in any environment, you just gotta know who you are. i'm not trying to be philosophical here. you can get a culture shock if you go anywhere that's different from where you're used to. it doesn't matter what ethnicity/race you are; what really affects you is where you are from and how you were brought up. if you've defined yourself as a person and have the pride and dignity to not "lose" yourself in other environments, you'll be fine.