1.5 Generation > > As I sit here and begin to write this essay, I know who I am and what I want > to write, but there was once a time when my identity was questionable.
> During that time, I didn't know who I was, what I wanted to be, or how I > could find myself. This essay, is not just an event that occurred to me, but > a series of events that shaped me into who I am today.
> Before coming to America, I had never really considered myself Korean or > American. I was just me. This is because Korea has a homogenous culture > where the majority of the population is Korean. When I mean majority, I > mean that the percent of the population of other cultures is about 2-3%.
> Unlike America, a melting pot where you can find every culture under sun, > Korea has a very limited amount of other cultures.
English: Diagram indicating Korean American settle...
Korean-American football player in Chicago, 1918
English: Paula Abdul attending L.A. Fashion Week a...Everyone around me was > Korean, spoke > my language and pretty much looked very similar to me.
> I had immigrated to the United States in 1987, when I was a third grader in > elementary school. Of course I was very excited to start a brand new life, > but I was also scared of the new possibilities. I didn't know any English, > and sad that I was leaving my friends back in Seoul, Korea. I was especially > sad that I was leaving my best friend Soo Yun. We had planned to go to high > school and even college together. She was my whole world and I was I forced > to leave it behind. The first day I started my brand new life in America > and stepped into my new...