Emily Luc

My name is Emily Luc, and I am half Vietnamese and half Chinese. I’ve always grown up with both sides of my family scrambling to choose a language to speak every time we got together during gatherings. Despite both of my parents being fluent in Vietnamese, I rarely learned the unique language myself. Growing up in America, I struggled to fit in with my other peers who were able to speak Vietnamese, and I never truly felt like I belonged to the community even if we were all ethnically the same. Not only did I feel outcasted by those who went to my school, but I, too, felt severely outcasted by my dad’s side of the family. Many of my relatives looked down upon my siblings and I for being Vietnamese, and we were not treated the same as my purely Chinese cousin during events such as Chinese New Years when she would receive more money than the three of us combined.

On many occasions, Cantonese was used to mock us rather than encourage growth and community. Being “Vietnamese” became an insult and subtle hints of favoritism had begun to peek through holes in my uncles and aunts’ facades. Even to its degree of ridiculousness, subtle discrimination had existed within my race and family, proving that race and ethnicity are not so black and white after all. In the end, I want to be able to explore who I am outside of my race/ethnicity and change my future for the better.