From diverse backgrounds and unique cultures, many students grow up with their heritage deeply rooted in their identity. While many are constantly surrounded by their family’s culture and languages — which can enable more cultural guidance, others lose or struggle to maintain generational culture and language.
Junior Logan Rosemond (he/him) emphasizes the importance of culture as he said it’s a pillar of who he is, but he also addresses the confusion that can come from his mixed background of Chinese and Haitian heritage. He said that he feels more connected to his Chinese heritage because his Chinese family lives in Seattle compared to his Haitian family, who lives in New York. Rosemond said that he does not speak Mandarin or Haitian Creole because of his parents’ negative experiences.
“There’s a lot of trauma with my parents and their language,” Rosemond said. “Through not teaching the language, they thought in their heads that they were protecting me in a way.”
Rosemond said this has made it more of a complex process to learn his familial languages. However, he doesn’t think not speaking his mother language has taken away from his cultural values and adds that it isn’t necessary in defining cultural identity.
“I feel very in touch with my culture at times,” Rosemond said. “I don’t need language to represent that.”
Although he is no longer an active member due to a busier course load, he also said that the AAPI club helped him find a community he could connect with and feel a part of, though he is no longer an active part of it due to a busier course load. While Rosemond still struggles to connect with his cultural heritage, he said that by looking at physical belongings from his deceased Chinese relatives, he has learned more about himself.
“I lived a lot of my life kind of being ashamed or feeling like an outcast, either from my Chinese side or my Haitian side,” Rosemond said. “It wasn’t until very recently that I learned that I can’t change it, so might as well show up for it instead of trying to hide.”
Sophomore Jose Ramirez (he/him) moved with his family to the U.S from Mexico at 5 years old. In contrast to Rosemond, Ramirez said that his parents encouraged speaking Spanish at home, which helped him maintain a strong connection to his Mexican heritage. He also was taught Spanish in school and by his grandparents before he moved, which gave him a strong foundation in language comprehension. He said that these memories and experiences with older generations of his family remain instilled within him and overall contribute to his cultural identity.
“(It’s) a part of who I am and who I’m supposed to be,” Ramirez said “It’s something you can’t forget.”
Junior Alex Carapito (he/him) also feels the importance of carrying on culture through generations and seeks ways to immerse himself in his heritage. Carapito was born in Luxembourg and moved to the U.S. at only 9 months old. Carapito said that he spoke French more fluently than English when he was younger, despite not living in a French-speaking country. Alongside his French heritage, he is also Ghanaian, which is a part of his identity that he feels more disconnected from. As he grew older, his multicultural and first-generation immigrant background created a feeling of cultural dissonance.
“I’ve always felt a bit like a stranger. I felt included, of course, but never really part of the other cultures,” Carapito said. “Not entirely at home in France, or here, or in Ghana, or anywhere. So I’ve often felt far more connected to my family than my cultural backgrounds.”
Despite this, Carapito said his perspective on learning about his two different heritages individually makes him feel more connected to his background overall by appreciating differences on both sides. For the past two years, he has worked as an assistant teacher at his local French school every Saturday, which helps him maintain his understanding of French culture and language. He also believes that knowing family languages is necessary to truly understand and interact with familial culture.
“Culture, I’d say, is above all communication. It’s relationships and interaction,” Carapito said. “If you can’t interact with people from your culture, if you can’t interact with the history of your culture using its language, then you’re kind of cut out, and I really find that to be a shame because, for example, I have a lot of German ancestry, and I can’t really interact with that culture because I don’t speak the language.”
He encourages students to always remember their cultural heritage and approach the world with an open mind. Carapito also said that individuals who rely on translations, whether it be via family members or using translation apps, inherently lose accuracy and clarity in meanings and communication.
“All languages are pretty different. They have different writing conventions, histories based on how the words are conceived,” Carapito said. “If you just rely on translations, then you miss out a lot.”
Freshman Michael Bailey (he/him), who is also of mixed background as a Taiwanese-American, agrees that communication is important. In the summer, he made an effort to learn Mandarin through Duolingo. However, he feels that his parents more-so uphold cultural values in daily routines rather than language. Although his American father also influences his work ethic, Bailey said that his Taiwanese mother stresses exercising self-discipline and striving to be the best version of himself.
“My dad had high standards when we were younger. He was always about getting A’s because he thought it wasn’t too hard,” Bailey said. “Then my mom has always just been, ‘you need a certain amount of discipline in your life, and it’s either self-discipline or discipline through parents, so whenever you lack self discipline, they will be there to add the discipline that you need.’”
Ultimately, these values and experiences — embedded in both his mother’s Taiwanese culture and his father’s American influence — remain instilled in him, especially as he practices extracurriculars and schoolwork. Similarly, Carapito’s values guide him in his drive to maintain his familial language and culture.
“It’s good to actually know to use all of your cultures, all of your background, to be able to make the best of your situation — of the world — and try to get to your city, to your goals, to your dreams,” Carapito said.
