Jenny Wong
Being the first born of low-income, Chinese immigrant parents is not easy, but it is rewarding. As the eldest child, I have faced many challenges. Along with being a high school student, I am a caregiver and an English translator.
As a caregiver, I have the responsibility of taking care of my dad who is bipolar. It has resulted in his memory loss, emotional instability and compulsive buying - which adds pressure to our economic situation. He cannot work because his knee was damaged in an accident and he does not speak English well to have a job that does not involve physical activity.
My mom is the breadwinner of our family, working two jobs. She also has to do everything at home; she cooks, cleans, makes sure my dad takes his medications, and usually is the last one to go to sleep and the first one to awake. She is one of the main reasons why I want to go to college; I want to help provide for her the way she has provided for me.
As a translator, I have had to translate from English to Cantonese and vice versa for my parents since I learned how to read and write. Receiving government assistance requires important forms and paperwork that takes time to complete. It is a lot of pressure to fill out the forms correctly because if something is filled out incorrectly, then the benefits may be canceled and restoring them takes a long time and more paperwork. Translating and filling out forms has become second nature for me; I know most of what is on the form and what information is needed.
Becoming a competitive student gets harder each year. As the demand increases to succeed, so does the pressure to maintain good grades, to manage my time between school, making time to participate in college-preparatory programs like College Track and Project SOAR II and extracurricular activities like being the captain of the tennis team and helping run worship at my church. There is also the responsibility of helping to take care of my family. People have asked me how I manage my time, and I always reply with "I just do it. It comes naturally to me because I have been doing it for so long and it is a way for me to help my parents.
Looking back, I wonder how I was able to juggle schoolwork, translate English for my parents, interpret and fill out government forms, take care of my family, and maintain good grades. Completing college will open more possibilities to work and travel and enable me to financially able to help support my family. Most importantly, going to college will make my family proud of me. It makes me proud knowing that I have fulfilled one of the dreams that my parents had when they came to the United States.