The world is really diverse and people have migrated since forever.

John Vu

It isn’t surprising there are people that don’t look typically ‚from somewhere‘. That being said, some migrants are discriminated against while others aren’t, based on appearances. They can ‚pass’ or are the ‚good ones‘.

For me, there was internal and external pressure to assimilate. If you want to you can, but if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. You can pick and choose how you want to present yourself as. The early teenage me hated being Vietnamese and would reject and even ridicule this identity and others in an attempt to be more ‚American‘. The older me knows I can fully be Vietnamese and American at the same time, and also sometimes more so as one than the other. And also my Chinese roots as well which I have not explored as deeply. Will I ever be 100% unquestionably be seen as someone ‚native’in any of those nation-states or by someone abroad? Not always, but I’m used to talking about identity to genuinely interested people. All this said, what does it mean to American or Vietnamese? Or Vietnamese-American? Identity shouldn’t be a checklist of characteristics you need to collect to qualify. 

As many instances, I come across being questioned if I’m really from ‚here‘, there are many instances that confirm that I do belong ‚here‘. I don’t feel being stuck in between but it’s ok if others do cause everyone’s context is different.

Language is pretty important to identity but it shouldn’t be used against. You. That being said, it’s never too late to learn.

The article was published with the permission of the author John Vu, an American-Vietnamese and a dear mentor who cheers for Roots of the Future and contributed with valuable insights and knowledge.