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The so called life in the eyes of a sheltered, spoiled teen
Hi! My name is Chen Wang. Most of my friends call me Chen. This past June I just turned the big Two "O". It doesn't feel any different to me being a year older. Thought I feel a little ambiguous about leaving my teen years and going into ADULTHOOD. I am happy that I am no longer a teenager. The statement about irresponsible teenagers no longer applies to me. I always hated it because I know I am not irresponsible. Now I don't have to defend myself against that generalization or any other ones like it.
Being 20 is also kind of scary… the responsibility, the REAL world. I just got a car and it scares the hell out of me: the insurance, the regular maintenance, yearly registration renewal, etc... What a big responsibility! Imagine the grief that would come with a house. And now, on top of that, my memory is going as well, you can tell I am already going over the HILL.
Now a little bit about my background. I was born in Tianjin, China. I came to the U.S. when I was 13. This is my 7th year living in South Florida. I am the only child. Yes, I am spoiled. I am not very good at sharing. I never had to for most of my life. But no matter how many toys or attention I get, it is no substitute for the closeness, the intimate bond that sisters and brothers have. I have always envied those people who had a sister or brother. I don't even mind the sibling rivalry. I would love to have someone to fight over things with.
I had a rather uneventful childhood. Meaning no stepmom, no evil sisters, no drunkard father or nasty divorce, but I have seen and heard my shares of yelling and fighting. That is why I hate to be confrontational. Life has not always been rosy. But I had it easy. My life was sheltered. I never had to make my own decisions until we came to the states. Mom and Dad were there for me every step of the way. I have been waited on since I was a baby and is still being pampered. I have never had a depressing or problem day until I got into college. That was because of finals. That was my first reality check. I almost had a nervous breakdown because of it. Otherwise, I had the most normal life anyone could ask for. My dad was an art teacher in a middle school in China. Mom was a factory worker. We lived with my grandparents until I was four years old. Then we had our own place.
Life in China isn't what the average Americans perceived it to be. At least not when I was born, before that you can check with the history books. I have heard stories about the Great Chairman Mao, the Cultural Revolution and later the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
I swear Americans still think we wear those grayish green uniforms and carry the little red book with us everywhere I go. People, if you ever bother to watch the news, you will notice that Chinese people are livin' their life la vida loca. China has changed. Today China has everything U.S. has and more: computers, high fashion, clubs...
About Chairman Mao, I loved him like everyone else did, thought I had no reason of my own to love the man. The Cultural Revolution I had heard about from mom and dad thousands of times. Mom wasn't happy that she was sent to the rural countryside to be a farmer's wife. Dad was happy that he got to stay in the city, got an education and became a teacher.
In my point of view, the purpose of the Culture Revolution was to "educate" students about the life and ethics of the proletariats (Communist's view, of course.) The Cultural Revolution wasted thousands of smart guys and gals' lives. Without the Culture Revolution, could it be possible that China is today's most developed country instead of the U.S.? Maybe, the thought has crossed my mind.
About the Tiananmen Square Massacre, like everyone else, I empathized with the college students when we all heard of their hunger strike. However, we never heard anything from the Media about the military tank pulling in front of the brave student. Does that make us communists like so many Americans think we are since we live in China – a communist country?
What am I? A capitalist-communist bastard - a crossbreed of the two countries? Or an idealist? Utopia? What is that? I've yet to seen it. The Bill of Rights is a golden piece of literature ever written. But with the greedy entrepreneurs in the U.S., America is not my view of Utopia. Maybe a combination of the both worlds.
Then I am scared of the ever advancing technology. Like in Adlus Huxley's Brave New World, everyone was conditioned in the test tube. I am scared to be a test-tube baby, scared that I am conditioned to fit society's purpose. I wasn't born in a test tube. But nevertheless, I was conditioned the moment after my birth, I have been conditioned by my parents, my teachers, by the invisible rule of society. How long is this going to go on? Until I feel that I no longer want myself to be conditioned? Is that going to be the day I die? Scary, isn't it? Will we ever be able to have control of our own destiny?
So I guess I am a capitalist-communist bastard. I was influenced by the communist propaganda and the capitalist teaching. Thirteen years of communist teaching have seeped into my character. It was really easy, even more so because I was a curious child, an avid learner, eager to belong (in a communist league) which I was. But with or without propaganda, the average Chinese people leads his/her ordinary life going to work, school and fulfilling his/her role in life or is it the role in society?
Still, China is where I was born. No matter the competence level of the government. That is where I am from. That is my root. I am terribly PROUD to be Chinese. I am proud of the history, the teachings, the language and the culture. I am also proud of the stereotype that Chinese are smart people, even thought I know it is not true in all cases. But it is nice that people associate us as smart people and good in maths.
China has became what it is today from hardwork and blood shed, just like the way U.S. had won its own independence. Communism is an ideal not many Americans share. I doubt the existence of true communism in my lifetime. I don't see Chinese, or the specially (greedy) Americans achieving that ideal any time soon. Because for true communism to exist, everyone has to be giving and altruistic, we know that human nature is greedy, and lazy. We serve no other but ourselves.
So what does a typical day in China look like? An average day in China starts 5 or 5:30 in the morning. Mom wakes up first just like moms everywhere else. By 6 or 6:30, all the kids and dad wake up, ready for breakfast then school or work. Every morning, when you go out to work or school, you are surrounded by thousands of bicyclists. That is a site to see if you have never seen one.
Where I used to live, the road that leads to my elementary school was full of street vendors selling wanton soap, beef noodles, hot, tasty, a treat to die for. You can stand by the counter as the cook makes it. Your mouth is watering all the way from home to school. All your senses are sharpened in the early morning. The smell of the crispy air mixed with the vendor's daily specials, the familiar faces of the street shoppers, the children, the bell sounds coming from impatient bicycle riders, the high pitched voices of street vendors, it is something that one doesn't realize one lives in it until it is all taken away. I remember I used to hate to get up for school every morning. But now I think of it, that is the essence and beauty of my simple childhood. I miss it very much. It is like Bell's provincial town in the story Beauty and the Beast. Once the children are on their way to school, the parents get on their bikes and ride to work. At the end of the day, everybody gets home. The children would finish their homework while the parents would prepare dinner. Then everybody would sit down for dinner when it is ready. See, how normal it is, just like it is in America.
Except school was harder in China. We used to go to school six days a week with only Tuesday afternoon off and Sunday off. We were in school ten to twelve hours a day. Our classes were much more challenging. Just to give you an example, I came to the U.S. when I had just finished 7th grade, I didn't learn anything new in math classes until 12th grade. Of course, I loved it. But I did have to use the extra free time to work on my English and science projects.
My favorite color is blue. But I look best in RED.
My favorite food is fried eggs with tomatoes.
I love to listen to smooth jazz.
Favorite sport: walking and jogging a mile or two. I can feel the leg muscles afterwards which is most satisfying. I don't need to have other people tell me how good exercise is. I know it is because when I don't walk or jog, I feel myself tense all over and I get really cranky.
Favorite pet: German Shepard.
Passion hobby: reading (romance novels), drawing and writing.
Favorite place: library with a glass window overlooking the mountain, the ocean and a beautiful sun set.
Favorite icecream: butter pecan.
Favorite holiday: Chinese New Year.
What do you want in life: To be happy and loved. To have family, friends and a satisfying career.
Will you marry a millionaire: Not for the money. Of course, if there is love, that is different.
Who is your Knight in Shiny Armor: Do they still make those anymore? I guess not, there are no more dragons. But I guess booty call will do once in while. I will play the pretend game.
Your dream: That is the $64 million question. I wish I know.
Your motto: I have adopted Oprah's Ten Commandments.
**I am making this up as I go along :)
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 Chen Wang ladyserenity98@yahoo.com
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| Florida International University |
| Date Created: June 11, 2000 |
| Last Modified: September 1, 2000 |
| Expires: January 31, 2001 |