Being A Minority Essay

Minority is a broad term that classifies my family and me. This term can mean something bad and something good, depending on who’s perceiving the term. For me, personally it is a little bit of both. Being part of the minority group, it can and has been a barrier in my educational pursuit. However, it does not stop me from trying to reach my goals, it is like a motivation. I am a Korean and I am proud to classify myself as a Korean; however, sometimes it can be hard. When I joined Kindergarten, I remember the school staff trying to put me into a special program because they did not think I was capable of speaking English. At first, I did not feel that happy that they quickly assumed I was not able to reach the educational level like the other kids. However, then I realized they recommended the program to me to ensure that I stayed at the level and would not fall behind. Although, the program was recommended to help me, I did not want to learn without my friends, I did not want to get extra help, and I did not want to be treated differently. Therefore, I tried harder in and out of school; I would go home each day and do practice workbooks and study. Thus, leading me to go to a magnet school. Although, I was able to overcome this barrier in Kindergarten, in high school it became harder. I remember people always commenting that I was a stereotypical asian and that I needed to loosen up. Although these comments do not sound that bad, it really hit the spot on me. After hearing all these comments, I immediately wanted to stop trying in school because I did not want people to think that I was a “buzzkill” at school. Also, due to my race, I felt that people had the

Being classified as an Asian and Korean, I struggled with some hurtful comments. However, rather than holding a grudge, I forgave and forgot those comments. Moreover, I used it as a motivation to try harder to reach my