<pre><code> When I was brought into this world, I was immediately immersed into a cultural cocktail of traditional Korean and American values. Being a first-generation American, all members of the older generation were immigrants primarily from Seoul. My relatives, most certainly my parents, were steadfast in both assimilating me into an unfamiliar American culture, but at the same preserving the Korean values that were once hammered into their upbringings. As a result, one recurring personal issue that I had constantly faced was of identity. “Am I Korean, or am I American?” I asked myself as I continued to age. For many years of my childhood, I lived under the false pretense that I was only a Korean because it was written in my genetics. With this naive mentality, I experienced great deals of ridicule from some kids at school because often, I would exclude myself from “the Americans”. Like anyone who has been bullied or treated unfavorably, a line will eventually be drawn. For me, that line came into existence in the first grade, when I was physically hurt by a fellow peer.
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<p>Soon, the pretense I once embraced, and followed everyday life with disappeared. Strong emotions were incorporated with the physical pain I felt that day. Since I was young, my mother told me that it a Korean cultural imperative, to endure and stay steadfast to one’s beliefs. I heeded my mother’s advice on a day by day basis, but as I felt the stinging pain of my forehead scraping the pavement, I could endure no longer. Change was seen as a positive value in American culture. And as a result, I welcomed change, and accepted the fact that I was an American.
This cultural conversion seemed liked an unnatural one. My former self and my reformed self were light and day in terms of my behavior at school. No longer did I isolate myself, or remain uninterested in American activities. Though the changes seemed to bring positive results at school, I soon came to detest my former values. I can recall how my sudden changes did not bode well with my family. One night, my entire family was sitting at the dinner table when I heard my mother rise from her seat and take my food away. Then I realized why, a small misdemeanor on my part-beginning to eat without paying respects to my mother in Korean. I had detested so many of my old Korean values that I forgot some of the basic, most crucial ones. Beginning to doubt my own sanity, I was unsure of which culture I belonged to. In both situations, the outcome was negative in some way.
Although the philosophies of either culture by itself may be too self-destructive or too self-denying, I’ve learned that it is efficient to pick the best from each and work them to my advantage. For example, my strong commitment to familial duties comes from the pious values of my Korean culture. While my devotion to independence and desire for success comes from my American values.
Utilizing these hybrid values, I wish to attend Rutgers University as a proud first-generation American in order to pursue the middle road, and accept new challenges. Being able to endure the strains of life but at the same time adapt for the betterment of one’s quality of life are values that I plan to utilize when pursuing a career at Rutgers University of Arts and Sciences. A higher education at Rutgers University will provide me the opportunity to show that the middle road can always be fruitful. (3413 characters)</p>