Retracing Your Steps

Ever since I moved to America, I’ve been enclosed in a community with many Chinese immigrants. Though I have always felt connected to those in my environment because of my empathetic peers who have supported my learning along the way, a library like this was fascinating to me because I had never seen literature from my childhood outside of China. To me, these books embroidered my dull elementary life with vivid worlds of enjoyment and fascinating imagery. These authors taught me important messages and presented me with creativity beyond my imagination.

Our local libraries have books written in Chinese for children to read, but they lack appropriate genres for young teens to read. I have met several people with Chinese backgrounds who have begun to forget the language due to a lack of continuous communication or reading, which has led them to step away from their cultural heritage. Although some parents encourage their children to speak Chinese, a lot of the people I’ve met listen when others speak Chinese and respond to them in English, which has led them to slowly forget their other language and, in some cases, even develop resentment toward it. From my interactions, the above situation often occurs for American-born Chinese kids who choose to speak English instead of Chinese because it helps them feel a greater sense of belonging based on the surroundings they grew up in. 

However, I believe that maintaining our mother tongue, Chinese, could be beneficial as it allows us to pass down family stories, fulfill the language requirement for graduation, and access more educational and job opportunities. A library similar to this could aid young immigrants during their transition into a new environment by helping them maintain their comprehension skills and express pride in their heritage. Providing age-appropriate genres in these libraries could also help children remain interested in practicing their mother tongue and embracing its significance.