Emily, why do you hang out with Asians?

This is my new friend, Wei Li. He has come from China to obtain his masters degree here in America and he's pursuing four majors simultaneously. In order for Wei Li to get to the position he is in must have taken incredible determination and work throughout his life. He was probably selected from hundreds-- maybe thousands of potential candidates.

You know many people might be curious to know why I choose to spend time with Asian people. Generally speaking, though we're all at this school together, most people choose to predominantly hang out with people of their own race. The reason this is not because people are racist, but because we tend to have similar interests and lifestyles.

Throughout my life I have found the most satisfaction in improving in a skill and gaining success. Confucius taught that in order to live a truly satisfying life and maintain social order man must try to improve himself and set high standards of success. This is why the Chinese people, as well as other Asian societies that follow Confucius principles have little crime, because almost everyone is studying their hardest to be the best they can be. This is why these people work so hard and why their societies are very competitive-- and, unfortunately, puts more reliance on looks and family history to get ahead in society.

These principles have been what I've lived by for the past couple years going to CBC and trying to develop a foundation for my more difficult classes here at Central. During this time at CBC I met Hannah S., a Korean foriegn exchanged student. Hannah enticed me because of her intense attention to detail, organization, cleanliness, and perfection. Her cultural background in Korea taught her this. Ha ha, I imagine Hannah in Kindergarden carrying a little organized pencil case, how adorable! Here in America things are done a bit more half hazardly and sloppily. For this reason, Asians have always fascinated me in the way they organize because it's such a valuable skill to have that took a lot of time to develop-- especially in school!

Being friends with Hannah taught me some of these skills and I hope that in making friends with more Asian people I can better understand their methods in scholarly perfection. And let me of course just say that everyone is different, this is a generality, but stereotypes exist for a reason.

So in a sense, if I continue to take on school like Hannah would-- long study hours, making sure to get things done ON TIME, keeping close record of due dates in my planner, making sure to always have supplies on hand, always making sure to have the correct books on hand.... Then I will do exceedingly well! Over achieving Asian students continue to inspire me.

peace.