Essay

Zhifeng Zhao

Eng 1

28/02

Recently I read two articles—Elizabeth Wong’s “The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl” and Tony Nunez’s “Becoming an American”. Both of them move my memory since some of their experience are similar to me. Because of family factors, I once dreamed to become a singer but I have not completed yet. Therefore, my life had more to do with trying to get what I want and make it better.

When I was an eight-year-old boy, I started to contact with singing since I was invited to make a performance in front of all the classmates. I was embarrassed by my complete ignorance of singing but I pluck up courage to sing. However, when I finished, everybody in the class screamed and applauded to me. So at that moment I started to realize that I have a beautiful voice and I started owning a dream—to be a singer. When Elizabeth Wong spoke to someone in English, “people nodded at me, smiled sweetly, said encouraging words” (301). And also when I won a singing competition, shared my happiness to my friends, my parents and told them what my dream is, they always nodded at me with smile and encouraged me to continue.

Then I grew up, I want to be seriously to talk about this to my parents but they finally told me that singing can only be an interest but not a future job. No matter how hard I tried they just ignored my idea and even asked my teacher for stopping my activities of singing in school. Elizabeth Wong did not have the best environment for her to learn English because she lived in Chinatown and studied in Chinese school, and for me I was also not in an environment that contribute to me. All of the people who encouraged me before admonished me that I could not be as ignorant as a child. However, I was not going to give up.

Hence, eventually, I came to America. Even though I am not studying singing but I can do everything what I want. Actually it is highly difficult for me to give consideration to both my studies and interest so I always need extra time to do them. Tony Nunez had to go to school earlier because “those of us with difficulties came an hour earlier for “special tutoring.”” (219), and so am I. I usually get up earlier than other students for practicing singing. Although no one cares about my dream, I am still trying me best to do it. Hopefully one day I can prove it to everyone.

Although Elizabeth Wong and Tony Nunez are in different situation at the end of the story because Wong wrote “sadly, I still am” (301), and Tony is already growth but both of them are very hard-working people. I am similar to them and I am supposed to be harder. I realize that I am doing right since I am doing what I am interested in. I hope I can be proud of what I do at this moment many years later and never regret it.