I’ve grown up in a home that adheres to “Asian values” that emphasize family, education, hard work, and respect for elders. I would say that my parents have a stronger bond with my brother and I than with each other. They’re always willing to sacrifice their personal needs for us, especially when it comes to education. My current tuition to attend Michigan is around $35,000/yr not including rent, food, etc and my brother’s tuition when he was in college was around $45,000/yr. My parents have always placed a value on education because they didn’t have the opportunities we do now. My dad always tells me stories of when he had to walk to school with no shoes. Truth or not, I’m really thankful for the opportunities they’ve given me when they could be travelling on a yacht in Greece and wine-tasting in Italy. I value education as much as they do because I want to be successful one day, have a comfortable life with my family and be able to repay my parents for all they’ve sacrificed. In a way, my education also reflects on them as parents and their job of raising me. I like to think that they’ve raised me very well, but also more strict than a lot of my friends. Although I’m in college now, my parents will still give me a curfew when I’m home for breaks. The first thing they always ask me when I’m home is, “How are your grades?” They’ll put me on a guilt trip if my grades are sub-par and reward me if they’re good. Although my parents are strict in terms of education, they’re not as stringent about who I date. In traditional families, Chinese are only allowed to married within the race in order to keep the lineage “pure.” However, this idea of maintaining racial purity clashes with the ideals of American society because it’s seen as racist. My parents realize that in raising my brother and I in America, they’d have to adapt new ideals. I’ve been dating my boyfriend, who is white, for a couple of years now and they were a bit impartial at first but they’ve come to accept him as part of our family. I’m not dating him because I want to be accepted by whites or because it’d put me at a better position in society. I’m dating him because we love each other and have mutual trust, respect, and honesty. My parents have also been supportive of my brother’s cohabitation with his half-Vietnamese, half-French girlfriend. My brother decided to show his commitment by moving to Australia, where she was originally from, and cohabitate for awhile before making a final commitment. All in all, my family has been doing pretty well so far…