Celebrating different cultures makes the United States a great country. Many people from various countries immigrate to the United States, in search of the American Dream. America presents the opportunity for one to pursue a job where you work hard and earn a salary to support a family. The American Dream is living with the freedom to choose a better life and living in a safe environment. Many Asian’s heard of the opportunities presented by the United States and decided to immigrate. Asian American, Native Hawaiian, And Pacific Islander Heritage Month is a time to celebrate the impact made by various people from Asian, Hawaiian and Pacific Island backgrounds.
During Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we celebrate the generations of Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders who contributed to America's history. As a matter of fact, President Joe Biden recently proclaimed May to be Asian American, Native Hawaiian, And Pacific Islander Heritage Month. According to A Proclamation on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, And Pacific Islander Heritage Month, 2022 | The White House, the reason for celebrating is to honor those Asian Americans Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders “From serving our country in uniform, advocating for civil rights, starting new businesses, and winning Olympic medals, the contributions of the AA and NHPI community touch the lives of Americans every day.” Many Asians immigrated to the United States saw the opportunity to serve the country, then help improve the lives in the country and take advantage of the chance to make a positive impact. Understanding the great contributions of Asians makes me feel proud of my family and our culture.
People from Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander backgrounds have an important role in the success of the United States and paved the way for future citizens to pursue a new life. Due to the opportunities available in America, my Grandparents and other family members immigrated to pursue the American Dream. As second generation Asian American from Chinese decent, if it was not for the previous success of Asians coming to the states, maybe my Grandparents would never have heard of the opportunities the United States presented, and maybe they never immigrate to America. Since my Grandparents chose to come to America in pursuit of a better life, my parents were given the opportunity to attend and graduate from high school and both received college degrees. I saw firsthand how hard my parents worked to support their children. They provided shelter, food and a great life. As we grew older, my siblings and I understood how my parents learned these lessons from my Grandparents who worked very hard to support their family. A piece of advice my Grandparents repeated to me when I was growing up was “Graduate from high school, graduate from college, get a good job, buy a home and raise a family.” My Grandparents are no longer alive, but I still remember their advice and I’m proud to say I graduated from high school, college, achieved a Masters Degree, bought a home, pursued a teaching career, and currently raising a family.
According to information from the 2019-2020 school year, Marie Curie 158 is home to an Asian population of 65%, this means approximately two out of three students are Asian Americans. Our school should be proud to recognize Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage because it makes up a large population of our school. By recognizing Americans from Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage, we will be bringing awareness to all of the contributions and celebrate all they have done to help fulfill the promise of the American Dream for the future. Celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage means every American has an equal opportunity to be successful.