Ask and You Shall Receive

A risk that I took this semester is asking professors that I needed help with either homework or course content. I’m the type of person that hates asking for help. I’ve grown up in a family that basically promotes individuality and being self-sufficient. I struggled with my science classes because they were just tough for me and I couldn’t grasp the concepts of some of the things being taught like genetics in biology and limiting reagents and enthalpy in chemistry. For the longest time I just sat in my room stressing over concepts by reading and trying to solve problems from the book to help me understand, but that hardly worked. When I went in to ask about the material I was basically given an easier version of it, so I could understand and grasp the actual concept itself. Not only did I reach out to teachers, but I reached out to my fellow classmates that are in the class with me. A girl in my biology class was getting awesome grades, so I asked her how she was doing it. She told me that it’s a lot easier to understand the material if you’ve done previous homework on what is going to be talked about in the next day’s lecture. I tried this out and to be honest she was right. I understood concepts better because I read the material beforehand. I can’t say I have changed my way of doing things completely, but now I am more confident about asking people for help.

Different Is The New Normal

I feel like calling a person “different” is almost insulting. The correct term I believe for this word would have to be unique. To be “different” is doing things others would deem as strange or extraordinary. At least that’s my interpretation of the word. For instance if you’re a jock and you see kids that sit around playing card games in the lunch room you would think they’re weird, but this can also be flipped around because when you ask those kids about jocks they may think they are different as well because they don’t have the same hobby as them. I feel like people with the most power and popularity are considered the “normal” people because everyone likes them more, but what is normal? It all depends on the person. Being considered normal can be determined by the majority. If a lot of people are doing one thing then it may seem normal to do that. In my high school people associated themselves in different specific group, but I wasn’t like that. In high school I felt like I was different, but at the same time I was still well liked. I was involved in so many extracurricular activities that people couldn’t label me as a jock, nerd or music and speech dork. I feel like standing out can be very difficult. In a society that is so focused on the media and how the media is constantly advertising how everyone should be it’s tough to go against the majority because nobody wants to stand out like a sore thumb. In my opinion the world needs more “different” individuals because normal is boring.

A Crisis of Identity

One issue that I thought I could relate to was Sami’s story and how he was having an identity crisis when he had to fight in a war that needed him to kill his own people. He also at one point said he was the farthest thing from being an Arab. I feel like this happens to a lot of the younger generation nowadays. I even notice it in my family. I am the oldest and I believe I have the strongest grasp of our family’s traditions because my parents brought me up with tradition and my younger sister also got a bit of it and it really shows when we are speaking our native language which is Laotian. I have pretty good understanding of the language and as it progresses from myself to my younger sister and my youngest sister the level of understanding and speaking the language decreases. This also goes for when we show signs of respect. In most Asian cultures it is very disrespectful to speak to someone that is your elder and look them directly in the eye. I believe because of the society that my sisters and I were brought up in it is hard to not look at people in the eyes because it’s a sign of respect to look at people in the eye when it comes to the American culture. This creates and clash between culture and society and because our parents won’t judge us nearly as hard it becomes easier to turn around on our traditions. This happens to many children in this day and age because society has such a strong influence on all of us and all can really be done is to have parents keep reinforcing their kids with their traditions and culture like my parents do to my sister and I.

The Risk Ahead of Me

When it comes to risk taking I believe that attending college can be very risky. The two main reasons that really stand out for me is the fact that college cost a lot money to attend and not having anyone else in my family attend college before me. My family isn't poor, but at the same time we aren't rich either. It's hard to grasp the fact that I'm now in college and on my own for the most part. Who is it to say that after college I'll even get a job I'm going to school for? What if I decide to change my mind last minute on what I want to do and go through even more years of college? There are so many possibilities for me. It's almost a stab in the dark, but in the long run I believe my chances will be a lot better with this extra education. The second thing that I'm risking is being the first to attend college. I don't have any family member to really ask about going to college because they haven't gone to a college or they've just started like me. I've essentially walked into an unknown and unfamiliar territory without much information. It's enough to make a person's head spin if they think too much about it. Some people would say that going to college now a days is almost like gambling because of how our economy is. To me I think going to college is like making an investment into my future. I risk the chance of either making it or breaking it. I believe with dedication this risk is worth taking any day.

5 Memoirs

My name is Jeff khamphasouk and I am a son of two refugees from the Vietnam war. I was born in Fresno, California, but was brought up in the town of Storm Lake, Iowa. I am the oldest of three kids in my family. I am also the first in my immediate family to attend college, so it is a big deal. By me taking a chance at becoming a better person I hope my younger sisters will follow my footsteps to become better people too.