Book 1 Post 2
The book I chose was "American Like Me" by America Ferrera. For the first blog post, I wrote about the first couple chapters I read after focusing on the chapters about other Indian-Americans like me. I had already heard of many of them like Padma Lakshmi, Kumail Nanjiani (a Pakistani-American I've seen in Silicon Valley), and Kal Penn (an Indian-American I've watched in Designated Survivor). It was super interesting to learn more about their backgrounds as I had mostly known of them as characters on a screen as opposed to individuals. For example, I knew Kal Penn had been one of President Obama's speechwriters but I didn't know his path there from a high school in New Jersey that made him choose between international studies and performing arts to being an actor to that role.
I've also read about other chapters about individuals I know of even if they don't look like me. One example was Jeremy Lin. I'm a huge basketball fan and watched in real time as Linsanity took hold of the NBA. While, unlike Jeremy, my basketball talent is very, very limited, I can definitely relate to the stereotypes that Jeremy Lin mentions about playing pickup basketball as an Asian. I can appreciate his admiration for Yao Ming as a role model because I've definitely noticed that seeing other Indian-Americans reach out the pinnacle of society as CEOs has been a point of pride and motivation for me.
I enjoyed "American Like Me" more than I expected because in today's world, I feel like a lot of content about being cultured in America turns deeply political. By contrast, I think "American Like Me" does a really good job of just showing the reader what it's like to have a hyphen in your identity. It highlights what it means to have an ethnicity in front of the "-American". Having been born and raised in America as the child of first-gen immigrants surrounded by a similar community of kids, I can appreciate what it means to be a hyphenated American and I think it's great that the wide variety of individuals in the book some of their experiences as a hyphenated American.
Thanks for the post, Atul! I also read "American Like Me" by America Ferrera. I relate to what you said, at first I focused primarily on the stories written by other Asian Americans, because that's what was most relatable to me. But after reading stories from those who I would perceive as different from me, I realized we have a lot more in common than I had thought.
ReplyDeleteHi Atul,
ReplyDeleteI am also reading "American Like Me" by America Ferrera, I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on the book, it gave me different perspectives. As someone who is also a first gen, it was very refreshing to finally see other people of color having the spotlight to share their stories. At the end of the day we all share similar experiences and its nice to see that being shared.
Hi Atul,
ReplyDeleteI also thought "American Like Me" was a great read. I think the collection of essays from the wide variety of people was really interesting to read about. I also found it interesting to read about Jeremy Lin's story as I also remember when Linsanity took over the NBA years ago. I'm glad you enjoyed reading this book too.
Hey Atul,
ReplyDeleteAlways a pleasure to read your posts. Thought not an "_____-American" myself, I also found value in American Like Me's spotlight on mixed ethnicities, histories, and lives. This book's ability to simultaneously give us insight into the upbringings of the writers, and highlight the most valuable lessons they extracted from these, has made me value it so much. It sounds like you share this sentiment!
Hi Atul,
ReplyDeleteWhile reading America Like Me, I also initially focused on chapters of people of similar background to me. I have read all of the stories, and it was inspiring to see people of all background break through stereotypes and become successful. As a first gen, I found it comforting to hear the similar stories of other "hyphenated Americans" and their victories!
Hey. I liked how you talked about Linsanity and his adjustments to the NBA where everyone's predominantly black or white. He definitely struggled to find his identity as a player and as a person on and off the court. As an asian american, I can understand how the media can categorize him as an unstar like player since society thinks asians aren't athletic or talented. I'm very excited to see your story in the future
ReplyDeleteHi Atul! Great post! I didn't read American Like Me, although I thought it was fascinating to hear how the book discusses the different perspectives and life experiences of growing up as an immigrant, or child of first-generation immigrants. It's definitely something that would hit close to home for me, since my own parents immigrated to America.
ReplyDeleteHi Atul,
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading your post about reading "American Like Me." I appreciate your perspective on the book and agree that it was well-written. I connected a lot with America's story, and it was wonderful reading how you connected to the book. This further proves the importance of the book by showing that many people from different backgrounds can find commonalities with each other.
Hey! I read the same book but I never looked at it from the perspective you mentioned about the "hyphenated" identity that is usually encompassed and what that hyphen actually means when it transcends to everyday interactions and experiences. I think that, and alongside what you said about gaining this nonpolitical back-view to characters we usually detach from this struggle sometimes was truly insightful!
ReplyDelete