How to American: An Immigrant's Guide to Disappointing Your Parents

by Jimmy O. Yang

He said that this really is the land of opportunity, but most Americans just don’t see it because they’re simply too used to it. They don’t appreciate it and they don’t take advantage of it as much as people who move here from other countries do.

severely mentally handicapped.

“Pursuing your dreams is for losers. Doing what you love is how you become homeless.”

The most important values in American culture are independence and freedom. The most important values in Chinese culture are family and obedience.

laughing head over heels.

To most foreigners, America has the most prestigious universities and the best job opportunities for college graduates. Ironically, the only people who might disagree with that sentiment are people who actually live in America.

This American version of a pizza oven inside of a hole in the wall was quite jarring to me. How is the authentic version so much shittier than the foreign version? I felt betrayed.

But this diverse group of human beings from different backgrounds reflected an even more truthful version of America: a country of immigrants.

Pursue what you love, not what you should.

You have tricked your brain into a new standard and there’s nowhere to go but up. So you set a new goal

never looked at these challenges as barriers; I saw them as opportunities to grow.

I’d rather try to pursue my dream knowing that I might fail miserably than to have never tried at all. That is How to American.

“Having you as my son is like winning the lottery… Not the Mega Millions jackpot, but like a small twenty-dollar prize.”