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Tommy Vo
Mrs. Burgess
15 September 2014
Literary Narrative

What Made Me
What is writing? The official definition of this word is the activity or skill of marking
coherent words on paper and composing text. Honestly, I was not the strongest or the most
interesting writer out there. I think that I am born an engineer with the build of drafting skills,
mathematics skills, and mechanical skills. My goal is to earn a double degree in Electrical
Engineering and Computer Engineering. My father inspired me to follow this path. He is an
Electrical Engineer who graduated from NC State. I feel that these fields have many
opportunities for well-paying jobs, but to receive these degrees I have to complete courses that
deal with writing and reading. I know that I have to improve my literacy and writing skills so
that these extra courses are not as difficult. I will give it my best and excel in these courses. In
the following, I will first underscore my deep-seeded issues with stereotypes to establish an
emotional connection to my literary passions. Then, I shall propose a way to lift stereotypes from
the societal mind to show my understanding. Next I will disclose my family history, my personal
struggles, and how helping others personifies my dedication to becoming a better writer.
In the real world, there are such things as stereotypes and manifestations of racism
everywhere. To live under the assumption that these cultural problems do not exist is to live
under an unfortunate ignorance. The specific stereotypes that bother me the most are the ones
about Asians. I am Vietnamese: hence the sensitivity to the stereotypes associated with Asians.

Most people, when they see or run into Asians, they think we probably have a funny accent and
all we do is speak ching chong. Along with the accents, they probably assume that we are not
literate. Speaking from personal experience, the situation honestly infuriates me. Not every
Asian has a pronunciation problem. Yet, because of the stereotypes in todays society, these
immediate assumptions occur often. I want to rise above such offensive stereotypes and thus fuel
my motivation to become a better writer.
My journey begins in the small town of Hickory, North Carolina where I was born. My
parents were born in Vietnam, but traveled to America by boat during the Vietnam War. The
conditions during that time were unbearable for Vietnamese families and thus thousands left the
country for better living conditions. My father and his family were sponsored in Hickory by a
local church. He was about sixteen at the time and immediately went straight to high school.
With little knowledge of English or the American culture, my father worked harder than most to
learn. He told me stories of being subjugated to harassment because of his accent and his race.
My father worked to prove all of his peers wrong, graduating with one of the highest GPAs in
his class. Studying every night, he taught himself how to read and write in English. The point
here, is that not all Asians are illiterate. Mastering a new culture and language is difficult for
anyonebut this does not allow a person to look down upon anothers disadvantage. The level
of each newcomers adaptative process is different. You could interact with someone thinking
that they do not understand English, and to your surprise they may be fluent. The most important
lesson is to keep in mind that one cannot assume the level of adaptation of a foreign individual.
Moving to a new country is an adaptation and thus it is a process. My parents families
succeeded in adapting to their environment through hard work. Our society should look upon
those in the process of adaptation with understanding. We should recognize that the transition is

hard, as my father demonstrated in his high-school years, instead of immediately branding the
individual as illiterate.
Just as many people can assume that Asians do not speak English well, it is dually noted
that some people assume that Asians are good at math. Stereotypes are both positive and
negative--it is the assumption branded upon any person of race that makes steriotypes morally
wrong. Instead of simply playing on the Asian stereotype that Asians excel in math, I will
provide a reason for my fathers exceptional mathematic abilities. His success in math was not
inherent. Many people assume that Asians are naturally good at math. My father was exceptional
in math merely because Vietnamese curriculum has a faster pace. People who succumb to
steriotypes are mentally enable to separate the stereotype (or trait) from the race or group. They
see the trait as inherent within the race or groupmaybe even genetically. This is the process of
steriotypes: people identify a pattern of behavior in another race and immediately assume the
trait is prevalent because it is genetic. This process launches generations of belief about specific
races. We all know them: black people like watermelon, white people are racist, etc.
Understanding that my fathers abilities in math are not genetic, but a circumstantial product of
his Vietnamese upbringing, is the first step in relieving the shroud of stereotypes. We must first
separate genetics or coincidental prevalence from stereotypes before we can overcome this
ignorance.
Through the example of my father, I believe that I can excel in the same way. He has
acted as a role model and I hope to be as successful as him. As a toddler, I was taught strictly
Vietnamese and only Vietnamese. Everywhere I went I would speak Vietnamese and my parents
would take care of the rest. At first, I looked back and I appreciated that my parents did that.
They kept the culture with me, so it can be passed down. Now, my Vietnamese is very rusty and

I regret not always practicing it. In kindergarten, I was put in ESL classes to help me learn
English. From the alphabet to pronouncing words, they taught me the basics of English. I did not
graduate from that extra class until I was in the first grade. This was only the beginning of my
literacy and writing skills. I studied and read a lot of books in the library. Although my reading
level was not high, I enjoyed reading books and free-writing. These activities made me the writer
and reader I am now. As my father did, the years I devoted to studying English and my habits as
a child have lead me to overcome the same stereotype my father endured.
The situation is very similar to one of the literary works we read for class. The Mothers
Tongue, was a piece written in the perspective of an Asian woman. In her case, her mother did
not have the best English skills and was not fluent. This Chinese authors name was Amy Tan.
Amy wrote about her embarrassment of her mother and her literacy skills. She was tired of
hearing that her friends could not understand her mother when she speaks, but her mothers
accent to her was fine. Asian people like us seem to have an ear to Asian accents. It is like
second nature, but of course we do not catch on and speak like that. Mrs. Tans embarrassment
of her mother led her to study and excel far in the English literacy. She learned from her
mothers mistakes and went on to do bigger things. I can definitely relate to her. I have an Asian
mother whose English is not the best. My friends always make fun of me when my mother call
out for my name. Now my name is not Tommy, but TOMMAYY. I cant help it, and I still
love my mother to death. I just feel embarrassed for her, but it still doesnt motivate me to
become a writer for my profession.
Another big role that played in my life and English literacy was my familys wealth. My
parents are not the richest nor the poorest, but we are kind of in the middle. My dad is an
Electrical Engineer working at Commscope, which is a company in Claremont, North Carolina.

Commscope makes fiber optic cables and wires. As an engineer, he makes quite a bit of money.
When I was a kid, my parents put me in all sorts of programs and preschools. This gave me a
head start on speaking, reading, and memorizing the English alphabet. Without my parents
financial ability to support academic programs, I would not be where I am today.
I come from family of six members consisting of two parents and four children. As the
oldest of four, I try to act as the best role model for them. Lee is eleven years old, Kevin is ten
years old, and Brian is nine years old. Naturally, as the first born, I have to set the bar for the rest
of the brothers. At home, everything I did was mirrored and copied by my brothers. If I farted,
they would fart too. In the hopes that they would follow my footsteps, I demonstrated a studious
demeanor and an effective work ethic. Unfortunately, Brian had the same problem as me: he was
put in the ESL class and had to go through the process. This youngest brother had a hard time
reading and comprehending. He found himself reading books and articles, but not processing and
retaining the information. Lucky for him, he had three older brothers who could help. I did not
want my brother to go through what I went through, so I relentlessly worked with him. We read
books, wrote stories, and completed tons of reading exercises. Slowly he progressed and
improved his reading scores. Now, he is on his own and doing well. In my life, I not only
motivated myself to read and write, but I wanted to teach and give back. I kept the stereotype not
only away from me, but my family. I want my brothers to be successful and I support them with
all my heart. I knew and I fought through life without that older sibling. I know how hard it is to
be independent and motivate yourself. Having an older brother would have made things a lot
easier and smoother for me, but sometimes having it hard can build character.
Ever watched the movie, Pay it forward? The film is about a kid who creates a system
where people do random acts of kindness. An easy example of paying it forward in the movie is

the scene in which a man messes up his car and a random old man gives his car to the other man
in replacement. This is an example of how I paid it forward, but instead of a random person it
was my brothers. I want to give back to my brothers and watch them succeed. If it means that I
need to teach English and writingthen I am all for it. As from my experience teaching Brian
better English, I not only am motivated to learn, but also to teach if needed. There are definitely
many influences that have made me the person I am now. Through the struggles of my family
and myself, through the example of my father, and through the help I received, I have excelled
more than imagined in writing. I want to create the same kind of system (as identified in Pay it
forward) to those who are struggling under stereotypes. If we recognize the process of how
stereotypes are madethat people wrongly assume the traits are inherentthen we can pass on
the liberation to those struggling.