TWINKIE

This is a re-post from my other blog
https://amakore.wordpress.com/
which deals with my research and thoughts on Adoption.

"The biggest question I’ve had to answer in my life has been “am I Korean or am I American”?

The pursuit for IDENTITY is one of the big life challenges for most.  The big question “Who am I?” requires a lifetime for most people to answer.

This is a question that begs a question: What is an “I”?  From here we get into a whole spectrum of thinking from A to Z.  Without beginning a reprint of the Encyclopedia or Wikipedia, we have to come to accept or at least agree to certain constructs.

The “I” represents the various forms of I-dentification, of establishing a presence in the three planes of accepted existence – body, mind, and spirit.  The three aspects encompass the totality of human existence with a nod to some others who claim the extrasensory aspects of human knowledge.

Pascal stated, “cogito ergo sum”.    “I think, therefore, I am”.  There are many others who debate and philosophize on this question, but that is not my intent here to be a summary of the philosophies.  Instead, I just state that we ARE, we EXIST on several levels, and therefore, we LIVE on several levels and planes.

Distilling these thoughts and feelings and senses into a sum and whole results in a person who senses, reacts, thinks, believes, accepts a set or sets of values, cogitates on these factors, and ultimately speaks and acts according to their synthesis.

Then, “Am I an American or am I a Korean?” becomes a much broader question.  My difficulty stems from the fact that I obviously look like a Korean, not a European descendant who looks “American”.  This physicality is the key.  Regardless of how much I may believe, act, and speak, think and behave American, most people in nearly every part of this great land will still look at me and ask “Where are you from?”, meaning, you are not from “here” and you look very different.

A great summary of where I am now is the “Twinkie”  or “Banana” – yellow on the outside, white on the inside.  Twinkies are sweet, filled with good tasting filling, a banana is a wonderful fruit that has become a vital part of the world culture.  Similarly, Asians can and do add to the great mix that is now all part of “Globalization”.  In more cosmopolitan areas where there has been a lot of mixing and stirring of races, ethnicities, and cultures there is rarely a dust up or clash over race or ethnicity.  Places such as New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and a few more where there has been this integration and assimilation race and ethnicity is not a big, overt barrier.  The Twinkies have become accepted and assimilated.  Recently the Pew Research Center published  a clear statement of the rise of the Asian minority:

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/06/19/the-rise-of-asian-americans/

You’ll find some very interesting facts and statistics in this report.

In summary, for today’s thoughts, is that I am a Twinkie that floats between two worlds – Americans and Koreans.  I am not 100% in either camp neither by acceptance or choice.  And, now, after nearly 60 years of struggle, challenges, and hardships, it’s OK!  I am at peace being an “AmaKore” – an American/Korean!"