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Me!
Hi, my name is Kenny Li and I was born in Downtown Hospital on May 2, 1989. I lived in Jackson Heights, Queens for as long as I can remember. I attended my local schools of P.S.69Q and I.S.230. I went to The Bronx High School of Science and I am currently attending Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Baruch.
This is a photo of my second uncle (on far right), my grandma, my oldest uncle, and my mom. This picture was taken in their home in China.
My parents were married in China and lived in the rural villages. Conditions were terrible; shortages of food and money often and little opportunity to have a better life. However, the opportunity came and my oldest uncle left home at age 12 in search of making money in Hong Kong. After several years of working hard, he made enough money to bring my parents, my grandparents and other uncles and aunts to New York, via Hong Kong. When my family arrived, they lived in the cramped apartments of Chinatown. My parents did not even complete 4th grade before being sent to work on the fields. So my dad worked as a cook in a Chinese restaurant, and my mom as a seamstress. In 1987, my sister was born and because of the cramp spaces in the apartment, everybody decided to move out into Jackson Heights. After working really hard and saving anything they could for several years, my parents were able to move away from their brothers/sisters, but still within the same neighborhood.

Although we live in a non-Chinese neighborhood, my parents always found ways to connect back to their Chinese cultures. This includes working in Chinatown, even after moving to Queens, and sending my sister and I to Chinese school every weekend in Chinatown. Although my parents tried to learn English, but fails horribly, my parents do not wish to be Americanized. They do not prevent us from learning American ideals, but they wish that we uphold Chinese values and traditions. My parents have retained their Chinese heritage by connecting with the Asian community, whether in Flushing or Chinatown whenever they want.

I went back to the old village where my family came from and indeed it was in a horrible state. It has been about 20 years and I can't even imagine the condition back then. Besides my story of how my parents came to America, I guess there is nothing special about me compared to many other immigrants who came to America in search of a better life. My parents made a LOT of sacrifices and thus I strive to do my best to thank them.

Email: kenny.li@baruchmail.cuny.edu

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