Kesaya Noda's Essay 'Growing Up Asian In America'

672 Words3 Pages
Americans having mainly been known for being free, and while that is a big part of the American identity, it is not the only aspect. The definition of what it means to be American is defined through independence, which derives from freedom to make one’s own choices, and being able to build one’s own diverse identity. An important part of being American is having the freedom to be independent. The idea that Americans have freedom to do what they want is the foundation that forms the American identity that many people possess. The reason Americans can have that freedom that they desire is because of the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights outlines what the government can’t make laws on in order to protect a person’s right to make…show more content…
This is why Americans are all descendants from different ethnicities, or they lived in another country before coming to America. Because of this, most Americans practice other cultural traditions along with American traditions. People who lived in another country before coming to America often identify themselves as something-American. An example of this would be in the essay “Growing Up Asian in America”. The author, Kesaya Noda, is from Japan but lives in America. She identified herself as a Japanese-American. Noda combines her two ethnicities to practice both customs and traditions. An example of this from the story is when she is at a festival listening to rock music, an American custom, while saying Shinto prayers, a Japanese custom (Noda 33). Kesaya included this part to her essay to show that she is American, she is just more unique by being Japanese-American. Being diverse means not following the crowd and doing what everyone else does. In other words, being diverse is being unique. American use their freedom to form their own path to live on. They do this by choosing what career they want to pursue and making their own identity. Every American hopes to have their dream job. Part of the American identity is getting the opportunity to fulfil one’s dreams. Each person has a different dream job that they want to pursue. In the poem “I Hear America Singing”, the
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  • Kesaya E. Noda's Growing Up Asian In America

    681 Words  | 3 Pages

    loyalty and determination. To those with ethnicities often found outside of America, defining the American identity can be challenging. For example, the author of Growing Up Asian in America, Kesaya E. Noda, was born and grew up here in America, and also experienced a japanese culture through her grandparents who happened to be japaneses immigrants. In Noda’s essay, when describing the struggles of growing up racially asian, she

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