WRIT340 Book 1 Post 1: Reflection on American Ferreira's "American Like Me"

For my first book of this semester, I’ve decided to read America Ferreira’s book called American Like Me. I was surprised by this book. Instead of the author telling the reader a single story from her life, she allows each of her friends to share their very own “American Dream” story. The essays Ferreira includes encapsulate the unique American experience of immigrants. Each essay tells a different story. Some are more serious in nature. Others are seemingly more jovial in nature. However, even the seemingly 'insignificant' moments have serious implications for the immigrant community as a whole. 

When Ferreira recounts the internal struggle she faced with her own name, and consequently her identity, we can clearly see the underlying issue with ‘harmless’ assumptions and comments from the people around her. Constantly receiving attention from her peers and teachers ultimately pushes Ferreira, and many other immigrants, away from keeping their culture (ie: their original name). This implicit pressure causes immigrants to hesitantly change their names to assimilate into American culture, sacrificing their own heritage in the process. Additionally, Ferreira’s account provides insight into the balancing act immigrant kids are forced to play between their own culture and fitting in with their American classmates. 

As a child of immigrant parents, I can relate to Ferreira’s account in some ways. In elementary school, I rejected my own Persian culture to adopt the American cultural norms and traditions of my peers. While I did retain the Farsi language at home, I rejected other elements of my culture as I wanted to fit into the stereotypical American culture around me. This experience was surprisingly positive for me, as it made me more appreciative of my culture in the long-run and taught me how to maintain a healthy balance between my Persian culture and American upbringing. However, I had the privilege of growing up in a relatively multicultural community with a strong Iranian-American population. Having a strong community behind me and an open-minded family allowed me to explore the two different cultures on my own and reach my own conclusions with age. Each year, my new experiences informed new perspectives. Over time, I began to develop a very strong appreciate and connection to my native culture. I believe this connection was made even stronger because of my initial rejection of my culture. Having the ability to reach these conclusions on my own is definitely a rare privilege for children of immigrant parents.

Had I grown up elsewhere (or maybe a decade earlier), my experience may not have been a positive one. Perhaps I would have faced external explicit discrimination, causing me to further reject my culture and stop speaking my native language. Facing higher levels of discrimination could be very stressful and lead to an identity crisis at a young age. Although, I faced internal conflicts like other children of immigrants, most were self-induced rather than a direct result of external pressures. This unique experience can be attributed to the progressive nature of society and some good luck. Over the past few decades, a lot of the ignorant comments and discrimination Ferreira faced during her childhood have gradually started to evaporate from American society, creating a more welcoming environment for immigrants and their children (me).

Despite all the progress we have made as a society, there is still a long way to go. Even though I didn’t face explicit discrimination like Ferreira, I did feel moments of underlying pressure to assimilate to American culture. In order to alleviate this problem, schools should prioritize cross-cultural competency and celebrate different holidays and traditions. In my own experience, I used to celebrate Persian New Year with my classmates by bringing in traditional pastries for the class every year. Although this might have been my mom’s idea, the act definitely increased the cultural awareness of both my classmates and teachers, creating a more inclusive environment. Not only did they all get to enjoy delicious food, but they became more culturally aware in the process. While in high school, I witnessed how multiple cultural groups would do similar celebrations for their own respective holidays. These experiences allowed myself and other students to not only learn about different cultures, but gain a better understanding of them as well. In creating these multicultural and inclusive environments, we can set a strong precedent for future generations.