Asian American Studies 197A
Winter Quarter 2002

Reflection Journal 1

My Education Is an Opportunity to Empower My Community
By Hyun Ja Pak

I agree with the statement that though containing great opportunity for Asian American students, the distinct division between upper and lower class creates a possibility that there could more detrimental than beneficial outcomes. I believe that my viewpoint would be similar to that of low-income immigrant workers because it is the lower-income worker’s aspiration to obtain maximum success. The opportunities to expand out of the ethnic enclaves and into "mainstream" society may lessen the responsibility to the culture and ethnic enclaves.

Take for instance, an attorney who gets an incredible education. Though they slaved and worked hard to get that far, would they choose to take the opportunity to return to the cultural community for lower wages, or would they choose to take the higher-paying job at a top-dollar law-firm? This is the dilemma that increases as immigrant parents labor for their children to have greater opportunities than they had.

The lines between immigrant and non-immigrant are becoming wider as the distinction between educated and non-educated determines the success of many lives. I believe that the detriment comes when the ethnic enclaves and the Asian American race lacks cooperative unity. With such distinguishing class divisions the race becomes weaker and therefore leaving both the empowered and the powerless with little to benefit them. To clarify, the educated individuals aspire to top levels while leaving the lower-income individuals to survive for themselves. As a result, creating little support for professionals and the abandonment of the lower-income class to deal with issues on their own.

On the other hand, I am a child of such opportunity. Though the situation may be described of yester-years, I come from an immigrant working family. Growing-up I co-labored with my parents working in various low-paying jobs and eventually ran a small business with my parents at local swapmeets. As I motivated myself through school, I was determined to obtain wealth and success apart from returning to the labors of where my parents were. Being their greatest concern, they encouraged my leaving and continued to arduously work in their small business day after day. It wasn’t until I came to UCLA that my perception shifted and I began to realize my own responsibility to my community.

Upon applying for UCLA, I was advised to pick the most "unlikely" major to enter through. Being that I wasn’t a spectacular scholar and my grades and extra-circular activities were not enough to bring me in, I picked the Asian American Studies major knowing that I had a better shot. I resolved to simply major out into something else when I came into the school but was shocked to find out that the very major I inadvertently chose would be the very major I’d stick with for my undergraduate years. As a freshman I took a couple of Asian Am classes and found that for the first time in my life I was learning history that was so unavailable to me. Being born in America, I lacked any regard to my culture. I also felt displaced because my distinct physical difference from other Americans. Thus, learning about a history that was somewhat identifiable was incredibly intriguing and caused me to take deep interest in the study. As a result, I have learned a great deal of who I am, how I got here, and what opportunities an average person like me can contribute back to the culture that I left unidentified. I even began to take interest in my ethnicity and I have actually become a lot more culturally educated in my Korean heritage.

As an Asian American Studies student I no longer find it justifiable to let the load be tossed over to someone else. Rather than seeking my own ambition for rich success, I find that I cannot perceive life without thinking of the contributions I have to offer those less fortunate than me. I also have expanded my way of thought in realizing that my actual place of position is simply a privilege, not that I have more to contribute but that I have merely become a person who has been given an opportunity to empower my culture.

Having greater knowledge in Asian American Studies, I believe I’ve really obtained a great desire to expand and educate others on the other facets of this country’s history, more particularly the presence of Asians. With such a broad study, I also feel that I have an abundant amount resources and opportunities to expand on my major. Currently, I take every class with the hope to greater direction. I often struggle with which area of expertise or concentration I’d like to use the skills and knowledge I have received. But more specifically, I feel that my ability to relate to lower-income workers takes the area of research and fight for equality to a more personal level. My skills I can offer are to coordinate and administrate smaller communities within the broader Asian community to give back to the larger cause. I’m still very interested and open to see where I can go with what I have to offer. I hope for this class I will be able to clearly convey that injustice still occurs and that the education of the public may increase the momentum of obtaining a more equal society.