Random post 1 - American Like Me

Book 1 Random Post for American Like Me, By America Ferrera

 

I am really glad I read American Like Me because many of the short stories really resonated with me. The authors frequently retold stories and personal experiences that were similar to my own. In particular, Reshma Saujani, Al Madrigal, Jenny Zhang, and Randall Park all discussed similar experiences or familial exchanges that were not much different from my own. 

To start, Saujani’s narrative detailing her complex relationship with her name resonated with me because it reminded me of my mother’s experience with her own name. My mother’s Taiwanese name is best translated to English as “Hsu Jia Fen,” and is hard for most people in the U.S. to pronounce. So, she eventually changed her first name to Angela because she knew it would be much easier for people to say and write because it was a “key-chain name,” as Saujani would call it. Despite this name change on her U.S. documents and in the office, she still managed to officially maintain her Taiwanese name by shifting it to her middle name and by keeping her last name even after getting married to my dad. As a result, even though first name introductions are generally much smoother when she goes by “Angela,” officers at the airport, receptionists, and many others always struggle with spelling the name “Hsu.” Frequently enough that my mother introduces it as just “Hsu. Henry. Sam. Uncle.” While I am honestly not sure why that particular string of names stuck for her primary greeting, I do know that the short addition has been the most effective measure in preventing her from being misnamed “Ms. Sue.” 

Another story that struck me was Al Madrigal’s familial teachings. The main two that stuck with me was “Where there is deep sorrow, there are deep savings” (36), and the author’s overall realization that his family was not actually cheap, but rather resourceful. These explanations stayed with me primarily because the stance felt practically identical to my own father’s. As a kid, my dad used to tell me that the best time to buy anything, whether that be a home or an item at a garage sale, was after a divorce, debt, and/or death. I quickly learned this to be true as we would occasionally scout out random houses and hear the long sad stories from real estate agents explaining why a property’s listing was so low and why it was such a steal. Of the different homes my parents have lived in, each has actually followed my dad’s policy of having been after a divorce, death, and divorce + debt (in that order). Further, I really related to Madrigal’s retelling of how his family was resourceful rather than cheap because I had a similar experience when I was in elementary school. At the time, we had seen a house/garage sale sign in passing pointing towards some divorced celebrity's home and decided to stop by. While walking through the rooms, my rare pokemon book equivalent was a glass dolphin figurine. While I wanted the dolphin and I knew my dad could negotiate the price down with ease, he instead handed me a $10 bill and told me to get the $36 figurine down to $10. Otherwise, I would have to leave it behind. Overall, looking back on my childhood, I have come to a similar realization as Madrigal in that sometimes buying things after negotiating down the price is not about being “cheap or frugal” but rather about learning to best utilize what you have.

Edit/Addition to answer prompt: Minimum of two paragraphs on which book you chose, why you chose it, what you hope to get out of it, what impressions you have so far.

I chose American Like Me because I typically enjoy short stories and was drawn in by Ferrera's introductory story. Before starting the collection, I hoped to find parts of myself in the narratives each author shared and, to my delight, I found a number that I really related to.