My grandfather : speak Chinese My grandmother : speak Chinese My dad : speak Chinese My mom : speak Chinese My friends : speak Chinese Me : speak English
I said something similar as a kid. I asked my white mom if I could have a white dad because my brown dad didn’t match me. I was 3 and I didn’t know any better. Being half Hispanic is weird sometimes. I was pale until I started tanning at the age of 4, I actually get pretty dark.
@@YOSHlDA many Asian immigrants to western places have a deep seated hatred towards themselves because they see western cultures as superior. They could intentionally or unintentionally not speak it as much at home, or the kid could see their parents language as embarrassing and speak English at home while their parents speak something else! There's lots of reasons someone might not be able to speak their mother tongue. A lot of kids also just lose the ability after too much exposure to only English at school.
@@YOSHlDA omg the same thing happened with me but arab version. I'm not fluent but I can keep up at least a quarter of a conversation in arabic, but my parent's first language was arabic and I was born in america, so I learned English somehow instead. It's possible and I think why is because English is the most dominant language in america, but Im not sure
I deeply relate to this as a Puerto-Rican American because I'm a white passing American born and raised who doesn't know any Spanish, so I feel totally disconnected from my own culture. I've basically fully assimilated into American culture only acknowledging my culture just from the fact that I know that Puerto-Rico is my heritage. The fact that people constantly deny the existence of my ethnicity by saying, "you're not Puerto-Rican, you're an American," because Puerto-Rico is under colonial control by the US just makes it even more frustrating.
same, i'm fullblooded puerto rican, but very white looking, and I barely know Spanish cuz my parents left the island at the age of 1-3. I know a little spanish.
same, my mother is Mexican and my father is Puerto-Rican so I’m Hispanic-American but I just don’t really speak Spanish. I can fully understand Spanish but I just don’t speak it in fear of getting words wrong. So when my mom talks to me I just respond in English and sometimes simple Spanish phrases.
It's rare to actually be related to samurai! Maybe take Kendo class to honor your ancestors if you are interested?? ww 心配しないで元気出して～your family is proud of you
My parents are born in Puerto Rico and I was born in Pennsylvania. I can say I’m a Puerto Rican American. As I was growing up I get nervous sometimes and I was diagnosed with Autism when I was 3, but it didn’t stop me from trying new things. Love the animation by the way. 🙂
I have symptoms of autism, but am not formally diagnosed. I can definitely relate to the notion of "disappointing" my ancestors. The way I've come to see it, my ancestors passed down a heritage to me in some sense of the word, but that does not obligate me to pass it on exactly as is. My being quite different from my ancestors does not obligate me to judge myself as a "failure" for not being who they think I should be. Come to think of it, when I hear stories about other Americans with parents from foreign countries trying to "pass on their heritage", it comes across to me not only as coercive, but downright gross. About ten years ago, my Thai partner discovered the film *Selena*, directed by Gregory Nava, which tells the story of the life of the singer Selena Perez, born in the USA to parents from Mexico. The way the film portrayed her father instilling a Mexican identity in her struck me as downright possessive. But also, I know that western countries like the USA also have a past tradition of willfully destroying the cultures of people it assimilates that is very coercive at an individual level. People should be free to be who they want to be. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk ;-)
this vid is relatable on so many levels. i was born in the philippines, but i moved to another country at the age of 5 and got exposed to english media. as u can predict, that influenced me a LOT, not only did my ability to speak tagalog get completely erased.. i even lost my understanding on the language and culture. i wanted to re-learn the whole language because i didnt want to embarrass my parents and i didnt want to feel disconnected from it, but i never fully committed. i always felt ashamed when i take the awful flight back to the mother land because of my relative's comments. knowing someone, and many other people, have the same experiences as me feels reassuring. Now that im older, ive been trying to learn the basics and the culture of my homeland^^
haha, had an opposite experience. as a bug-eyed asian person, a friend of a friend once asked me, "are your eyes really that big or is that your glasses?"
I can relate to this as a Filipino American. I grew up in America so I never learned the language so all I can say is thank you but I’ve been trying to learn the language and I love the food and culture but there’s a lot of times where I would feel closer to my American side but then my Filipino side and I would feel out of place when with my relatives. It’s nice to know a fellow asian has gone through similar experiences.
Which one, Tagalog or Bisayan? I'm not Filipino but my lady is a Filipina and I love Bisayan and I wish to speak her beautiful language. There is very few language tools to help out either because they usually focus on the national languages only.
@@mellieignacio7468 that's very surprising she tells me they are all over there! My lady tells me that everyone in visayans can easily learn english attracting alot of the call centers there in recent decades. The Philippines is such a diverse place with many cultures it's truly a beautiful country
Is that also the reason why you people only date and marry White dudes and hate Asian men?Because of your own insecurities y'all wanna merge with White people and don't even wanna give chance to Asian dudes.
omg a filipino!! i feel the exact same way. my parents immigrated to the us and then had me, so i've always wondered if i was actually filipino if i wasnt born there.
I’m Mexican who’s a first generation in America and never in my life did ever think someone related to my issues, this video and the comments by other Hispanics made me feel comforted in a way, thank you for sharing Emily, I feel as of this is an underrated topic.
People sometimes think I'm Asian lol. Lemme tell you why. I tell people that I am mostly of the Blackfoot tribe. These idiots forgot what a native American is (even tho our school's mascot is a native). So they googled what a Blackfoot was. The first picture they saw was one of my ancestors of course. He just happened to have what Americans call "Asian eyes". Not only did they call him a girl for having two long braids, but they also assumed that he was asain. They looked at the shape of my eyes and THESE IDIOTS SAID I WAS CHINESE 💀!
@@fourtrifiveo4350 yEs i Am vErY mUcH cHiNeSe. iT's NoT LikE I hAvE aN aFrO. iT's jUsT A wEaVe. I'm native American, African American, and European American btw. A very mixed child lol.
The vicious cycle of not trying because you feel like you sound stupid and never getting better which only makes you sound even more stupid is extremely relatable. I used to speak more Macedonian as a kid but because I lived in America (even though I did interact with Macedonian American family friends) I eventually lost my ability to speak well and only got worse with time due to the anxiety attempting to speak brought. I got even more embarrassed when I learned I had a thick American accent when speaking, which singled me out even if I spoke, and I completely thought I had a Macedonian accent when speaking.
I’m sorry man I thought when you said Chad you meant like the meme but then remembered Chad is a real country in Africa well either way God bless you and God bless Chad
Wow, I cried watching this. Thank you for posting. The analog of the potted plants as cultures that we nurture is really apt. I am a Filipino American who never learned the language and grew up also hearing what a 'shame' it was I couldn't speak OR understand Tagalog. To some degree, it's true I wish I had learned, but so I could keep the connection to that part of my identity. But when I or my parents are BLAMED for it, it does make me mad and resentful and I think it's just really disrespectful to the reality that multi cultural people grow up with. I have a lot of strong feelings about it now that I am older because 1) I am going to visit the Philippines soon for the first time since I was, like, a baby. And I feel so weird about it, and realizing I am kind of scared about it. I am excited but I am definitely an impostor or at least feel that way. 2) I have a baby now who is white (Russian)/Filipino and I have just all sorts of thoughts about how to keep him connected to his culture/identity, and feeling bad I can't even pass on Tagalog. I am trying hard to make sure he learns Russian since my husband speaks it at least. I cried when you said you once told your parents you wished they were white. Maybe because I identify with it, maybe also because I'm afraid of hearing it from my own son someday.
I’ve seen this video many times but have never commented. I’m a white American. I’ve never had these feelings. I don’t understand what this is like. But I appreciate and am humbled that you’ve shared your experience. I always want to be as educated as possible given my innate privilege. So thank you for sharing your story. And to every commenter that is sharing their own stories. I’m so glad to hear your voices and stories. I have a deep respect for you all. I’ll always have so much I want to learn, so thank you for helping me.
@@randomperson4050 How scotland and america are close because they speak the same language? Oh I dont mean Filipino and Mexico speak the same language, it's just an example
I also have very similar feelings. I'm a Mexican-American who is white passing. I grew up in rural East-Texas and distanced myself from my culture. I hated going to Mexico when I was younger because I felt so out of place. People would always ask me if I was a "Gringo" and were surprised I spoke Spanish. Even at home, it always comes as a surprise when people find out that I'm Mexican. My Spanish has an accent and so I don't speak it unless necessary. It gets made fun of when I speak it with others. I think that hardest thing for me is communicating with my parents. I find it hard and often struggle finding the words that I just get frustrated and give up. I reply to them in English most of the time if I can. I feel like I can't go back and speak with my family in Mexico because they resent me for never coming back to see them. It has been 10 years since I've been and I haven't spoken a word to my cousins.
I truly appreciate Emily’s mom trying to introduce Korean music to others because I’m more mature and I like to listen to all kinds of music that life has to offer, but school-era me can totally relate to not being that one person that brings in something that makes you “different” and labeled as weird. Especially since I grew up in a time where coming out was not accepted nor was being into anime (other than DBZ)
im hispanic and i connect with this video so much it has me in the feels ... parents moved from peru to the US when i was not even 2 yet, and i actually refused to learn english as a toddler until elementary school, then i refused to speak spanish and became embarassed by my culture. between 2013-2019 i never had a real hispanic friend. i was in this very hispanic church scouts troop in middle school for a while, but i never connected with the girls and felt like a loner but it's more cus i'm shy and isolate myself more than anything. i was never bullied for being hispanic, when some white kids in a day care chased me around with questions and wanting me to speak spanish, i hated that, but i cant call them racist cus they were just curious little kids. i am hella lucky that in 2020, i made an online friend who is peruvian like me, except he grew up there and moved to the US as a teenager, as opposed to me moving as a toddler. he's fluent in english and just has an accent while i understand most spanish i just feel insecure about it because of my refusal to speak it as a kid. he's really helped me let go of my shame and that what i've gone through is understandable, and it's never too late to relearn. so sometimes we have late night voice chats where it's just us speaking spanish and sometimes he's impressed with how natural i sound and that i've improved a lot. so i feel super lucky for that. as a kid i didnt like going to peru every summer but we haven't gone since covid and now i miss it more than ever :(
You’re not alone Emily, I’m a Chinese American who have online Chinese lessons because I also live in America all my life. I sometimes always argue with my mom that I don’t want to take classes and even though I can speak Chinese nicely, my spelling and reading is super bad that i remembered nothing that my Chinese teacher teaches me. I’m still very insecure about my culture and I never wanted to speak Chinese at school even though my friends always wanted to hear me speak it.
I'm Indian American (Tamil, to be specific), and a child of immigrants. I have also faced numerous identity crises because of it. Another thing added to that was that many Americans do not consider Indians to be Asian, even though we are in Asia. I am still dealing with it, but am also learning to balance my Western and Eastern identity. This video helped me a lot, thank you!
Well what the fuck? Here in Malaysia, India is definitely considered Asian. We’re Asian ourselves PS: the drawings of Emiri are so adorable someone give 2005 Emiri a hug🥰
I mean I think Americans know that India is Asian, but in American English Asian with no specification refers to east Asian while Indians would be considered south Asian. But if you said South Asian Americans should know that you're referring to like India/Bangladesh/Pakistan area. Southeast Asian also is a distin region to Americans. I think Asian being defaulted to east Asian is just a matter of population and the fact that many Chinese people immigranted in the 1800s for the US.
yeah Asian is a stupid label, Asia has like more than half the worlds population, and there are so many different ethnicities in Asia. The Middle East is in Asia, but people don't consider them to be Asian either.
I cried while watching this video because I am in the same situation as you ! (yeah I am writting this comment two years later haha) It's the first time I see a video that speaks about the language barrier in a crisis of identity! And it fits so well with what I live as a French-Morrocan! The fact is that as a Morrocan, I do not have to learn one more complicated language, but three (Darija, Arabic and Amazigh) ! It is so haaaaaarrrrrrrdddd to live with, especially when I don't speak any of them fluently!!
15 year old me: A Filipino living in the Philippine whose first language is English and speaks without a Filipino accent. Grandmother: Learn tagalog, be proud of being Filipino Me: Proceeds to learn German and Japanese.
this might make sense because of the Japanese invasion on more long ago, which some of koreans, still hate the Japanese for, so basically making them more anti-anime or anti-japanese
@@koto485 I think it's more of the fact that a lot of Asian elders still think anime = cartoon = for kids. But even if they didn't think it that way, even as anime is reaching mainstream status, they still think that having a career related to it is not a viable path in life, that it should just stay a hobby. I'm Indonesian, we got fucked over by 3.5 years of Japanese colonialization, the dismissive attitude towards anime is not related to it.
American Elementary schoolers then : "This sounds weird! What is this?!" American elementary schoolers now : BOKU WO, TSURETE TE SUSUMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
I’m Filipino and grew up in the Philippines but I don’t look or act like it and my Filipino is horrible. My mom is half Canadian and Filipino and my dad Chinese. Every time I interact with someone who isn’t Filipino they are always like wow you’re really in touch with you Filipino roots but when it’s with a Filipino they always think that I’m like Australian or British especially considering my accent. It’s been hard dealing with that and I’ve been going through similar experiences as you had when you were younger. Thank you for making this video as it really helped me feel a lot better about myself! Thank you so much!
This video is able to connect and reach out to anyone of a different ethnicity in America and feel the same bond and struggles. On the other hand, things like this can bring the same people together to grow together. I'm complete mexican ethnicity, but I'm born & raised American, and I can only say broken, basic around the house spanish, but I want to get better so I can be with the relatives and friends instead of being a "no sabo" kid. Everyone should bond with where they came from so that the can celebrate the past, present, and all to come.
i come back to this video every once and a while because i relate soso much to this :( i’m a poc , but i don’t feel connected to my culture at all. i was bullied a lot by my peers because i don’t really fit the general “look” for my ethnicity (i’m not even 100% sure of it anymore) , and never really felt like i could fit in. i wasn’t white for my white peers, but not really like the peers of my ethnicity. i see so many people celebrating their culture, or at least knowing about their traditions, but i really don’t and it’s makes me feel very alone and sad when i think about it a lot :( cultures are something that have always interested me , but when it comes to my own i feel so disconnected. this video really helps me feel less alone , i love your content soso much emily !!! 💞💞💞
This is one my favourite videos of yours. I can’t express how much I relate to this, especially in the language department. I’m a Sri Lankan Canadian btw. The weird thing is that when you forget about your own culture, you naturally get more interested in other cultures. I’ve been speaking French since forever and love Japanese music. Idk how I’ll change but I just wanted you to know that you weren’t the only kid like that 😊
I enjoyed your video immenselly. I'm Uruguayan and for very odd circumstances, I am of two nations, Uruguay and the US. I first came to the US with my parents at age 5 years and 10 months, then went back at age 10, then came back at age 17. To say that I was totally lost and felt uprooted repeatedly is an understatement. I lost friedships so many times I lost count. But fortunately I turned out 100% fluent in both languages, yet with a lot of heartache and emotional upheaval too. Yet despite all this, I found myself identifying with you so much. I guffawed out loud at several points because I could see your situations and empathize with you. I laughed not at you but with you, feeling I somehow knew that even though you felt strange, you also knew who you were and were fine with it. And it was exhilarating to hear what you went through and how you overcame it. Well, just to say I loved your life story. I will subscribe to your channel and I look forward to many good moments during your videos.
My mum: "Learn to speak Spanish" Me: *goes and learns French* Me to my mum: "Je ne veux pas apprendre Espagnol" My mum: *fluent in French as well* Me: *le gasp*
I’ve also had a similar identity crisis. I’m half Mexican and half Japanese (My mom is Mexican and my Dad is Japanese) and I was born in the U.S. Meaning I felt the pressure from my Japanese half to be super smart and gifted and know the language and be super in touch with all the Japanese traditions. And for my Mexican half the expectations were also to learn the language and the cultural traditions, but also to make my family proud and have a super successful job in order to support my family. And I’m also the artist child out of my other siblings who want to be scientists or doctors and it just made me feel super disconnected to both my Mexican and my Japanese roots.
I went through similar experiences as a half-Vietnamese Puertorican kid growing up. Great to see this video being made the way it was. It was very relatable!
**Sees dark skin** Person: Are you from Africa? Do you speak African? Me: I'm from Jamaica, we speak english there Person: Which country in Africa is that? Me:😤
I cried, because...I have the same exactly situation growing up, but instead of English it was Romanian, and instead of Korean it was Italian...I still can't learn Italian, and all my family members look down on me...
Classmate: Yo man. Can you read this? *Shows Chinese* Me: Nah man. I don't know how to read in Chinese. Classmate: I thought you were Asian. Me: Dude. I'm from Pakistan. Classmate: So does that mean you're not Asian? Me: *:/*
@@zeno.7519 I actually remember referring to my Indian friend as Asian and he got so mad at me and everyone (including my other Indian friends) kinda made fun of him for not knowing that I was correct 😂 EDIT: We were in high school at the time, so he should have known that by then.
@@zeno.7519 same with philipino. People seem to closer relate us with being latino when we are still asian. Also, the lack of chopsticks is another thing. One of my asian friends tried arguing with me that I'm not asian because pinoy people don't use chopsticks, it was honestly a rediculous conversation between 5th graders, but it made me question my identity. Also, even though it was between 5th graders, i've no doubt that some adults believe it too because where would my friend have got it from if it wasn't from his parents.
This was so incredibly resonant with me. I've been considering doing a video essay on my own channel about my Asian-American identity crisis, and I have to say, this video was such an inspiration. It mirrors my own journey so closely (with the exception of my being biracially Japanese and Filipino, so no language aside from English was ever spoken at home) that I can't help but see how universal this issue is among first-generation American kids. Thank you so much for sharing all of this. It's truly so powerful.
I’m Bangladeshi-Pakistani-Arab-American and it’s extremely confusing for me bc my grandparents and parents speak different languages and my grandparents are always bugging me to learn all these different languages and I’m not that interested in my culture (or the clothes there itchy 😭), so I can completely relate
I have a similar story: -I was born in china -I moved to canada when i was 1 -I have chinese side of family -I know nothing about chinese culture -My chinese side of the family knows how to speak chinese -i dont know how to speak to most of them -I NEED HELP
I am filipino and I was born in Britain & I also don’t know how to speak my language & so I always get super embarrassed when I meet new family members as they don’t speak English. I also don’t know a lot about filipino culture unfortunately, so I feel your pain
I watch your videos here and there when they pop up on my feed this video today was one of them, I’m hispanic and I grew up until a certain age on a island I felt a real connection with this video because it is the same in all aspects I’m trying to get better for my grandpas sake as the English to Spanish is not working well as it used to since my detachment but thank you for making the video I thought I was really alone on something like this…..
I'm different I'm a not Bruneians to the Bruneians and not a Malaysian to the Malaysians eventhough both of the countries are Malays it's the accent ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ
Oh man, what a touching story, glad you summon courage to openly speak about it like this. Can relate as Tatar/Russian person, who very rarely and poorly speak on tatar language, but can understand most of it. Identity crisis is such a weird thing. Even if you don't care, you feel bad about you parents or close ones about other people asking them uncomfortable questions.
I know how you feel my family members are Jamaican/Trinidadian even though we all speak English I don’t connect with the culture at all because of how I don’t visit often they joke and say to my parents “she’s so American” but I have the disconnect because I was the only one of my siblings who wasn’t born in the Caribbean and it frustrates me sometimes
i am south korean too! my mom is also sometimes worried that i mostly speak english with her but she always says if i talk english 'He! speak korean!' and then sometimes i found it harder or just still speak english but now times i trie to leurn more and speak more korean its a nice launguage, (i am not to good in writing enlinh sorry lol) i whas born in korea but we where a travel family and traveld over the world. I also lived in korea but after years my parents wanted to travel again. My mother is korean but my dad is netherlads so we now live some years in the netherlands. So i get your problems too! Only because i lived now in netherlands and traveled my korean also went down. I whas better at it when i whas younger because we where living in korea. but now i live in the Netherlands it went down only i still have the korean culture in my mind. So i have to deal with this with three laungauges. But i love korea! they have good food and everything. So i get your feelings :) its oke to not be that good at korean just like me:) i watch korean tv shows with engilsh descripton their are tv shows to leurn more korean
Me: Filipino-American My Parents: Don’t teach me their language or culture Also My Parents: Disappointed that I’m not magically bilingual Me: ( ; - ; )ノ
To add to the irony, I'm a white American, but I lived in the Philippines for 2 years as a missionary and speak Hiligaynon, Tagalog, and Karaya fluently and picked up on a lot of aspects of Filipino culture. Ang puso kong pinoy
i love the symbolization of the different nationalitys as flowers so much omg i kinda relate to this as a hispanic american feeling like i should learn spanish because more than half of my family only speaks that. this video is like so good
I am white, like super white, and have never even left america, but I have faced insane racism. I moved to a mainly Mexican city in the U.S., and the way that kids and adults treated me was surprising. I got called colonizer all the time, but when I made jokey remarks in return, it wasn't okay. I was joking with my friend and she called me a colonizer, and I called her a border hopper. I wasnt mad, in fact we both were laughing, but a teacher heard us and called me over. She said it wasn't okay for me to say that and I understood, she was an adult and we were being edgy. But here's what hurt. She never scolded my friend.
Torlak Kårstad Woah calm down there mister badass, You are so cool... I’m jealous. No but seriously it isn’t a big deal for most people but if a person doesn’t do it they might be more timid or just feel a certain amount of respect should be given but personally I wouldn’t stand for it either and I feel as if most people (especially men) would stare right back to reciprocate their feelings about what was occurring.
Dude… if someone stares at me i always say to my head "Does he/she hate me we never met, okay okay relax... deep breath just dont make eye contact and everything will be fine" i get nervous really i always think that did i do something wrong or have something wrong with me :/
Family: “oh you don’t know Vietnamese fluently? What are you w h i t e” Me: *tries to speak viet and mess up a word* Family: *makes fun of me so I feel stupid and stops learning* “why aren’t you learning viet?”
Ahh, same! Whenever I try to speak it, it always sounds weird and just plain broken and I just end up not speaking it at all because of how it sounds. I try to mimic my parents Vietnamese accent whenever they say things but it’s always hard;;;
I can definitely relate. I am Sri Lankan but grew up in Australia but, whenever talking to my grandparents or relatives, they would ask how much Sinhalese I have learnt so far & I never learnt much at all. I would be really envious when visiting a cousin younger than me who knew Sinhalese completely while they only spoke English to me. I got really emotional watching this video as it felt as my Sri Lankan culture started shrinking & wilting as in your video
This video relates to me the most. I've spent my entire life in the philippines, and still less than mediocre in the language. I still feel embarrassed about how it was mostly my fault that i'm on that level now. I don't know if I didn't try enough, or that I just don't expose myself to it often, but I feel like a burden having to communicate with a lot of my friends and relatives in english. I feel like I don't show enough respect to my country's native language, even though english is commonly used here.
I’ve never fully related to a video before…I’m Latina and don’t speak barely any Spanish. All my relatives are Spanish speaker and I feel the same as you. It makes me feel so bad about myself and I almost cried realizing I’m not just weird and need to get over myself. This is a real thing and now I’m know I’m not alone. Thank you Emily ^^
I can relate to this because I am, in fact, one of the few Latinos who can't speak and understand Spanish properly. I was diagnosed with autism in 1st grade and was also diagnosed with ADHD when I was 16. Also, my parents get mad at me for not speaking and understanding Spanish. I always feel like a misfit and I don't fit in a lot with the other Mexican American students in my school. By the way, this was the first video I watched on your channel, and I could relate to this.
Dude, once my Mandarin teacher asked me where I was from and I replied "Texas." I looked her dead in the eye and we stared at each other for a good 20 seconds.
Ever get the "no, where are you really from?" lol its badly worded, so I just let the loop continue for as long as possible. Gotta enjoy the little things
SolracJ88 No, I just get more questions going back in my history. Where are you from? Where did you grow up? Where were you born? Where are your parents from? I honestly didn’t notice what they were getting at so I’ve had this exchange with multiple people and one even chuckled like I was giving the wrong answers. I wasn’t being difficult, I was just answering the questions being asked. Now that I know what it’s about, I wish I was third or fourth generation so I could just keep going.
I'm a Korean born and raised in South Korea, but I've met so many people in college who were going through similar crises like yours. One of my friends is ethnically Indonesian, was born in Argentina, spent his childhood in Russia, went to school in France, and is now studying in South Korea. He spoke French, Russian, and English, but none of them fluently. He was the most interesting person I've ever met. My identity is like Mondrian's paintings, while his is like Kandinsky's. I somewhat fit into Korean society, but I'm narrow-sighted, and I have trouble understanding other cultures. Him, on the other hand, doesn't fit in, but he has a wider scope of view, and he's quick to embrace new cultures. I hope he can realize someday that his mixed identity is a virtue, and that it makes him truly unique.
The whole "understanding a language but not being able to speak it" and "language barrier with family" and "being compared to other people " and the SHAME....I can very much relate too (We love you for who you are Emily and who you will be ❤)
I relate too my gosh every time I go to my hometown(?) Me and my sister (my brother learnt the language and left me and my sister in the dust) would always have a hard time. But all our cousins from my mum's side also spoke English so we would talk to them,...... Then get scolded for "preventing them from learning the language" Also the whole "I want to be white" thing is very common, but I feel like there's also some people that say "I wish I was Asian" (East Asian) and I am partly ashamed of myself for thinking this way but it's true. I think a lot of people don't really talk about it so I see Emily as being brave for coming out and talking about it. Good on you Emily♥️♥️
I love that you used arirang as the end song. I remember one time my sister screaming to me "Why do I have an Asian family?!" It absolutely broke my heart, while starting some questions about my own cultural identity. Having pressure from both sides can be difficult. I still deal with it sometimes. But i've learned now to live in both worlds, and not being ashamed.
Happens to me too. If you feel awkward I recommend speaking most of a sentence in a language you usually communicate with and replacing one or two words in that sentence with the language ur trying to get comfortable speaking. Adding a lighthearted/joking tone and a delay also helps.
![[TH] 2024 PMSL SEA GF D2 | Summer | ร่วมส่งแรงใจ เชียร์ไทยไปพร้อมกัน](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dN2gLsCJ0T0/mqdefault.jpg)
My grandfather : speak Chinese
My grandmother : speak Chinese
My dad : speak Chinese
My mom : speak Chinese
My friends : speak Chinese
Me : speak English
Oof
@Zach Crom same here...
Duo: speak Chinese or die
#relatable
So relatable.
"I wish I had white parents"
BRUH I SPAT MY DRINK OUT. I'M NOT EVER YOUR FATHER BUT THAT HURT
Bruh u got hearted by the queen.
@Aimal Tabassam I know
J4studios x4 I know
@Towerbattles kid I know
I said something similar as a kid. I asked my white mom if I could have a white dad because my brown dad didn’t match me. I was 3 and I didn’t know any better. Being half Hispanic is weird sometimes. I was pale until I started tanning at the age of 4, I actually get pretty dark.
Man. As a Korean American myself I found this so relatable. Especially the part where people teased me for not knowing Korean. This was so cathartic
How can you not know it when your parents are Korean and know the language it’s so bizzare to me
@@YOSHlDA many Asian immigrants to western places have a deep seated hatred towards themselves because they see western cultures as superior. They could intentionally or unintentionally not speak it as much at home, or the kid could see their parents language as embarrassing and speak English at home while their parents speak something else! There's lots of reasons someone might not be able to speak their mother tongue. A lot of kids also just lose the ability after too much exposure to only English at school.
@@YOSHlDA some people have english as their first language.
@@astridverse but their parents are Korean so 1st language they should learn is Korean not English how did it happen
@@YOSHlDA omg the same thing happened with me but arab version. I'm not fluent but I can keep up at least a quarter of a conversation in arabic, but my parent's first language was arabic and I was born in america, so I learned English somehow instead. It's possible and I think why is because English is the most dominant language in america, but Im not sure
I deeply relate to this as a Puerto-Rican American because I'm a white passing American born and raised who doesn't know any Spanish, so I feel totally disconnected from my own culture. I've basically fully assimilated into American culture only acknowledging my culture just from the fact that I know that Puerto-Rico is my heritage. The fact that people constantly deny the existence of my ethnicity by saying, "you're not Puerto-Rican, you're an American," because Puerto-Rico is under colonial control by the US just makes it even more frustrating.
same, i'm fullblooded puerto rican, but very white looking, and I barely know Spanish cuz my parents left the island at the age of 1-3. I know a little spanish.
same, my mother is Mexican and my father is Puerto-Rican so I’m Hispanic-American but I just don’t really speak Spanish. I can fully understand Spanish but I just don’t speak it in fear of getting words wrong. So when my mom talks to me I just respond in English and sometimes simple Spanish phrases.
@@kkslider730 At least you actually understand the language.
@@gabetalks9275 Spanish isn’t hard,
@@EperogiLimousine Learning any language is always hard. My grandmother barely spoke any English, yet I was never able to understand her.
Me: Japanese
Also me: Can’t use Samurai sword
Ancestors: *Shame*
SHAME
Ishigami Yu no! I like japan!
I sub to u
Me: Korean
also me: *can use anything as a weapon and uses it well*
ancestors: *proud?*
It's rare to actually be related to samurai! Maybe take Kendo class to honor your ancestors if you are interested?? ww 心配しないで元気出して～your family is proud of you
My parents: "Learn Chinese goddamnit"
Me: *Angry italian noise*
PESTO DE QESTO DI MAMA
Kasaisho did u know that Chinese is the first hardest language to learn
Me chupa un huevo la pasta learn spanish *Angry south American noises*
My mum: "learn to speak Spanish"
Me: Angry French and English noises
JJGeorgeG GJ did u know that I’m chinese
My parents are born in Puerto Rico and I was born in Pennsylvania. I can say I’m a Puerto Rican American. As I was growing up I get nervous sometimes and I was diagnosed with Autism when I was 3, but it didn’t stop me from trying new things. Love the animation by the way. 🙂
I have symptoms of autism, but am not formally diagnosed. I can definitely relate to the notion of "disappointing" my ancestors.
The way I've come to see it, my ancestors passed down a heritage to me in some sense of the word, but that does not obligate me to pass it on exactly as is. My being quite different from my ancestors does not obligate me to judge myself as a "failure" for not being who they think I should be.
Come to think of it, when I hear stories about other Americans with parents from foreign countries trying to "pass on their heritage", it comes across to me not only as coercive, but downright gross. About ten years ago, my Thai partner discovered the film *Selena*, directed by Gregory Nava, which tells the story of the life of the singer Selena Perez, born in the USA to parents from Mexico. The way the film portrayed her father instilling a Mexican identity in her struck me as downright possessive.
But also, I know that western countries like the USA also have a past tradition of willfully destroying the cultures of people it assimilates that is very coercive at an individual level.
People should be free to be who they want to be. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk ;-)
this vid is relatable on so many levels. i was born in the philippines, but i moved to another country at the age of 5 and got exposed to english media. as u can predict, that influenced me a LOT, not only did my ability to speak tagalog get completely erased.. i even lost my understanding on the language and culture. i wanted to re-learn the whole language because i didnt want to embarrass my parents and i didnt want to feel disconnected from it, but i never fully committed. i always felt ashamed when i take the awful flight back to the mother land because of my relative's comments. knowing someone, and many other people, have the same experiences as me feels reassuring. Now that im older, ive been trying to learn the basics and the culture of my homeland^^
I grew up in another country but i didn't spoke english at home only my mother tongue
My bully at school: "Why are your eyes so small? Can you even see me?"
Me: _Your free trial of life, has expired._
My friends think I’m Japanese while I’m Filipino and American
It’s cause my eyes
haha, had an opposite experience. as a bug-eyed asian person, a friend of a friend once asked me, "are your eyes really that big or is that your glasses?"
@@kerentan9446 Fr?
same im a fil kor
"My dad would call out in Korean and I would call back in-"
My sleep deprived brain: "American ..... wait...."
Well if they mean the Ethnicity, then it is the correct use. If language, then wrong.
I can relate to this as a Filipino American. I grew up in America so I never learned the language so all I can say is thank you but I’ve been trying to learn the language and I love the food and culture but there’s a lot of times where I would feel closer to my American side but then my Filipino side and I would feel out of place when with my relatives. It’s nice to know a fellow asian has gone through similar experiences.
Which one, Tagalog or Bisayan? I'm not Filipino but my lady is a Filipina and I love Bisayan and I wish to speak her beautiful language. There is very few language tools to help out either because they usually focus on the national languages only.
@@d3thkn1ghtmcgee74 I’ve been studying tagalog haha. I’ve never heard of bisayan so I’ll have to look into that!
@@mellieignacio7468 that's very surprising she tells me they are all over there! My lady tells me that everyone in visayans can easily learn english attracting alot of the call centers there in recent decades.
The Philippines is such a diverse place with many cultures it's truly a beautiful country
Is that also the reason why you people only date and marry White dudes and hate Asian men?Because of your own insecurities y'all wanna merge with White people and don't even wanna give chance to Asian dudes.
omg a filipino!! i feel the exact same way. my parents immigrated to the us and then had me, so i've always wondered if i was actually filipino if i wasnt born there.
I’m Mexican who’s a first generation in America and never in my life did ever think someone related to my issues, this video and the comments by other Hispanics made me feel comforted in a way, thank you for sharing Emily, I feel as of this is an underrated topic.
So basically Im an asian american, and this other guy is like, “you’re not asian you don’t have squinty eyes!”
and I got so mad ;-;
People sometimes think I'm Asian lol. Lemme tell you why.
I tell people that I am mostly of the Blackfoot tribe. These idiots forgot what a native American is (even tho our school's mascot is a native). So they googled what a Blackfoot was. The first picture they saw was one of my ancestors of course. He just happened to have what Americans call "Asian eyes". Not only did they call him a girl for having two long braids, but they also assumed that he was asain. They looked at the shape of my eyes and THESE IDIOTS SAID I WAS CHINESE 💀!
@@mrpotatomansoul2577 🅱️ruh moment
You're like an anime character! 🙃
@@fourtrifiveo4350 yEs i Am vErY mUcH cHiNeSe. iT's NoT LikE I hAvE aN aFrO. iT's jUsT A wEaVe.
I'm native American, African American, and European American btw. A very mixed child lol.
@@daylenhigman8680 anime characters have them 👁️👄👁️ eyes
Asian American: Can’t speak their language really well.
Duolingo: Come, this is no place to die
top tier comment
carot meme well let’s wait and see. If this can get to top tier
Lol
XD dude that’s funny
Sadly, Duolingo doesn't have good Korean learning.
*So I'm learning it off a Discord server*
The vicious cycle of not trying because you feel like you sound stupid and never getting better which only makes you sound even more stupid is extremely relatable. I used to speak more Macedonian as a kid but because I lived in America (even though I did interact with Macedonian American family friends) I eventually lost my ability to speak well and only got worse with time due to the anxiety attempting to speak brought. I got even more embarrassed when I learned I had a thick American accent when speaking, which singled me out even if I spoke, and I completely thought I had a Macedonian accent when speaking.
As a Chadian-Canadian, this is so relatable. I have always had communication problems with my family. I couldn't even hold myself in a conversation.
I’m sorry man I thought when you said Chad you meant like the meme but then remembered Chad is a real country in Africa well either way God bless you and God bless Chad
@@RainOperator938 GIGA CHAD CANADIAN
My grand parents used to: speak Chinese
Me: replies back in English
Years later
I speak Chinese
Grandparents: learn english
how the turn tables
This is a sad story =((
They should pick one.
Yeah this is the exact reason i dont know any chinese at all. My grandma wants to practice her english rather than teach me cantonese
@@lilliantrinh8221 Ah I see you're a person of culture as well. Memento
My mom: Chinese
My dad: chinese
My parents: why don’t you speak French/Spanish
Me: *confused*
Lol
Same my mom told me te learn a new language
Felt that
Lol same
Atleast i watched the sub for animes
Wow, I cried watching this. Thank you for posting. The analog of the potted plants as cultures that we nurture is really apt. I am a Filipino American who never learned the language and grew up also hearing what a 'shame' it was I couldn't speak OR understand Tagalog. To some degree, it's true I wish I had learned, but so I could keep the connection to that part of my identity. But when I or my parents are BLAMED for it, it does make me mad and resentful and I think it's just really disrespectful to the reality that multi cultural people grow up with.
I have a lot of strong feelings about it now that I am older because 1) I am going to visit the Philippines soon for the first time since I was, like, a baby. And I feel so weird about it, and realizing I am kind of scared about it. I am excited but I am definitely an impostor or at least feel that way. 2) I have a baby now who is white (Russian)/Filipino and I have just all sorts of thoughts about how to keep him connected to his culture/identity, and feeling bad I can't even pass on Tagalog. I am trying hard to make sure he learns Russian since my husband speaks it at least. I cried when you said you once told your parents you wished they were white. Maybe because I identify with it, maybe also because I'm afraid of hearing it from my own son someday.
I’ve seen this video many times but have never commented. I’m a white American. I’ve never had these feelings. I don’t understand what this is like.
But I appreciate and am humbled that you’ve shared your experience. I always want to be as educated as possible given my innate privilege. So thank you for sharing your story. And to every commenter that is sharing their own stories. I’m so glad to hear your voices and stories. I have a deep respect for you all. I’ll always have so much I want to learn, so thank you for helping me.
My Mom’s side: “You’re too White to be Hispanic”
My Dad’s Side: Your’re dark to be white”
Me: “WHAT AM I THEN?!?!”
Grey lol
Bruh im Mexican but i can barely speak any Spanish
Beautiful. That's what.
Human
valid
whether you like it or not,
you will always be valid 👏😔
Omg right
me: mexican but born in America
someone: are you filipina?
me: well we were both conquered by Spain so...close enough
According to my teacher mexican and filipino are somewhat similar
LMAOO. As a Filipino, this made me chuckle
@@randomperson4050 How scotland and america are close because they speak the same language? Oh I dont mean Filipino and Mexico speak the same language, it's just an example
i have a filipino friend and his math teatcher called him mexican once and he had to correct her
Eyy I'm Pinay!
I also have very similar feelings. I'm a Mexican-American who is white passing. I grew up in rural East-Texas and distanced myself from my culture. I hated going to Mexico when I was younger because I felt so out of place. People would always ask me if I was a "Gringo" and were surprised I spoke Spanish. Even at home, it always comes as a surprise when people find out that I'm Mexican. My Spanish has an accent and so I don't speak it unless necessary. It gets made fun of when I speak it with others.
I think that hardest thing for me is communicating with my parents. I find it hard and often struggle finding the words that I just get frustrated and give up. I reply to them in English most of the time if I can. I feel like I can't go back and speak with my family in Mexico because they resent me for never coming back to see them. It has been 10 years since I've been and I haven't spoken a word to my cousins.
I FELT THIS SO MUCH! Like basically all the points she covered, except for my parents being Vietnamese I can relate!
My whole family: African
Me: African-American, raised in the USA
My relatives: SToP DoInG AmEriCaN sTuFf
Broo My Haitian ass felt this 😞
This is so relatable
This hits harder than my African dads belt
Yes! My whole AMERICAN BORN CHINESE (ABC) LIFE!
100% relate
"I feel like older Koreans really like to stare for some reason"
No Emily. That's just all Older Asian people...
Well it's Practically the same in all Asian Region i guess, same with Indonesia, China, and Japan, its all about Respect i guess.
oh no, Im already doing it
... THAT'S JUST EVERYONE
That is all old people
That’s just every old person everywhere....
i mean some of them are literally staring out their window for up to 9h
I truly appreciate Emily’s mom trying to introduce Korean music to others because I’m more mature and I like to listen to all kinds of music that life has to offer, but school-era me can totally relate to not being that one person that brings in something that makes you “different” and labeled as weird. Especially since I grew up in a time where coming out was not accepted nor was being into anime (other than DBZ)
im hispanic and i connect with this video so much it has me in the feels ... parents moved from peru to the US when i was not even 2 yet, and i actually refused to learn english as a toddler until elementary school, then i refused to speak spanish and became embarassed by my culture. between 2013-2019 i never had a real hispanic friend. i was in this very hispanic church scouts troop in middle school for a while, but i never connected with the girls and felt like a loner but it's more cus i'm shy and isolate myself more than anything. i was never bullied for being hispanic, when some white kids in a day care chased me around with questions and wanting me to speak spanish, i hated that, but i cant call them racist cus they were just curious little kids.
i am hella lucky that in 2020, i made an online friend who is peruvian like me, except he grew up there and moved to the US as a teenager, as opposed to me moving as a toddler. he's fluent in english and just has an accent while i understand most spanish i just feel insecure about it because of my refusal to speak it as a kid. he's really helped me let go of my shame and that what i've gone through is understandable, and it's never too late to relearn. so sometimes we have late night voice chats where it's just us speaking spanish and sometimes he's impressed with how natural i sound and that i've improved a lot. so i feel super lucky for that.
as a kid i didnt like going to peru every summer but we haven't gone since covid and now i miss it more than ever :(
Me a Mexican,walks into a Mexican barber
The barber: Hola coma estas, que tu queries
Me: Si
This is good material for a "Yes Chad" meme.
Bryan Anderson Me a Mexican when I went to Mexico for the first time at 13 years old
I plan on improving my Spanish
😂😂😂
Yo quiero un old fashion por favor. Tenia un dia mal...
Emily’s Dad : why don’t you have more Korean friends
My Dad : why don’t you have any friends
Bruh same
lol good comment you deserve a like
You will now never know why I got a 100 likes
oof thats relatable
i can be your friend -w-
I love the way the grandparents were so kind on the phone
You’re not alone Emily, I’m a Chinese American who have online Chinese lessons because I also live in America all my life. I sometimes always argue with my mom that I don’t want to take classes and even though I can speak Chinese nicely, my spelling and reading is super bad that i remembered nothing that my Chinese teacher teaches me. I’m still very insecure about my culture and I never wanted to speak Chinese at school even though my friends always wanted to hear me speak it.
"Why didn't you teach your kid Korean"
*Responds in Spanish*
Lmaoo
Y e s
Porque no necesita korean
PUEDE ALGUIEN PERFORARME EN LA CARA? gracias
Si
Me: *half Dutch half Vietnamese*
Dutch people: *U Chinese?*
Vietnamese people: *Where u from, white people land?*
Gekoloniseerd
Nói được Tiếng Việt không bạn?
ok, first of all, as a hetalian, imma just... *squeals* tHAT IS SO COOL OMG- THATS AMAZING!
@@hoanghunglong9222 Nói chuyện Tiếng Việt cho em thì khó mà em vẫn hiểu được tất cả mọn người.
@@ottohettemakrieger2428 Altijd
I'm Indian American (Tamil, to be specific), and a child of immigrants. I have also faced numerous identity crises because of it. Another thing added to that was that many Americans do not consider Indians to be Asian, even though we are in Asia. I am still dealing with it, but am also learning to balance my Western and Eastern identity. This video helped me a lot, thank you!
Well what the fuck? Here in Malaysia, India is definitely considered Asian. We’re Asian ourselves
PS: the drawings of Emiri are so adorable someone give 2005 Emiri a hug🥰
I mean I think Americans know that India is Asian, but in American English Asian with no specification refers to east Asian while Indians would be considered south Asian. But if you said South Asian Americans should know that you're referring to like India/Bangladesh/Pakistan area. Southeast Asian also is a distin region to Americans. I think Asian being defaulted to east Asian is just a matter of population and the fact that many Chinese people immigranted in the 1800s for the US.
yeah Asian is a stupid label, Asia has like more than half the worlds population, and there are so many different ethnicities in Asia. The Middle East is in Asia, but people don't consider them to be Asian either.
I cried while watching this video because I am in the same situation as you ! (yeah I am writting this comment two years later haha)
It's the first time I see a video that speaks about the language barrier in a crisis of identity! And it fits so well with what I live as a French-Morrocan!
The fact is that as a Morrocan, I do not have to learn one more complicated language, but three (Darija, Arabic and Amazigh) ! It is so haaaaaarrrrrrrdddd to live with, especially when I don't speak any of them fluently!!
my dad: korean
my mom: thai
me: *so i started trying to learn japanese-*
this is gold
raikantopini?
XD LOL XD
this is literally me!
Underrated.......
15 year old me: A Filipino living in the Philippine whose first language is English and speaks without a Filipino accent.
Grandmother: Learn tagalog, be proud of being Filipino
Me: Proceeds to learn German and Japanese.
Grandmother: suprised pikachu face
Legit I want to learn other languages and have no care towards Tagalog. Bad times, bad times.
Same here, but French lol
Same except I didnt learn any new languages-
Same lmao
Also, the use of a flower as a symbol of your mastery of the language and culture is an excellent visual metaphor. Well done.
I think whats really amazing about this video is how a lot people of all backgrounds can relate to this
"what's your kid been up to?"
"she likes to draw"
"Oh? Like Fashion design? Animation?"
"No, Anime"
"*Oh, Ew.*"
My Career choice in a nutshell TTwTT
this might make sense because of the Japanese invasion on more long ago, which some of koreans, still hate the Japanese for, so basically making them more anti-anime or anti-japanese
@@koto485 I think it's more of the fact that a lot of Asian elders still think anime = cartoon = for kids. But even if they didn't think it that way, even as anime is reaching mainstream status, they still think that having a career related to it is not a viable path in life, that it should just stay a hobby. I'm Indonesian, we got fucked over by 3.5 years of Japanese colonialization, the dismissive attitude towards anime is not related to it.
My dream is to make my own anime, god I just love making my own franchise where people can enjoy both my stories and characters.
HA! I was like number 420!
@@AvianZone Start from Webtoon, it should help.
American Elementary schoolers then : "This sounds weird! What is this?!"
American elementary schoolers now : BOKU WO, TSURETE TE SUSUMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Demon Slayer op!
Overrated
@@gavin1721 stop being a hater, just dont watch it if you don't like it
Overrated
anime weebs in school is nothing new
3 years later and this is still such a relevant experience for so many people.
I’m Filipino and grew up in the Philippines but I don’t look or act like it and my Filipino is horrible. My mom is half Canadian and Filipino and my dad Chinese. Every time I interact with someone who isn’t Filipino they are always like wow you’re really in touch with you Filipino roots but when it’s with a Filipino they always think that I’m like Australian or British especially considering my accent. It’s been hard dealing with that and I’ve been going through similar experiences as you had when you were younger. Thank you for making this video as it really helped me feel a lot better about myself! Thank you so much!
emily: “i wish i had white parents”
me: *GASPS LOUDLY LIKE A CARTOON* MIJA QUE PASO
Chale porfin un hispanohablante ;-;
Josua Caleb hollllaaa niño 🥴🥴
No habla español
Ah sí, más hispanohablantes😌
Reyes_DoesFlipsYT I can relate to this so hard
Me: 100% German and lives in Germany
Also me: Is bad at German
😹
Die gelbe Seegurke same except I'm from another country lol
Ist es wegen der grammatik hahahahah?
Deutsche sprache schwere sprache
-every German on this planet
This video is able to connect and reach out to anyone of a different ethnicity in America and feel the same bond and struggles. On the other hand, things like this can bring the same people together to grow together. I'm complete mexican ethnicity, but I'm born & raised American, and I can only say broken, basic around the house spanish, but I want to get better so I can be with the relatives and friends instead of being a "no sabo" kid. Everyone should bond with where they came from so that the can celebrate the past, present, and all to come.
i come back to this video every once and a while because i relate soso much to this :( i’m a poc , but i don’t feel connected to my culture at all. i was bullied a lot by my peers because i don’t really fit the general “look” for my ethnicity (i’m not even 100% sure of it anymore) , and never really felt like i could fit in. i wasn’t white for my white peers, but not really like the peers of my ethnicity. i see so many people celebrating their culture, or at least knowing about their traditions, but i really don’t and it’s makes me feel very alone and sad when i think about it a lot
:( cultures are something that have always interested me , but when it comes to my own i feel so disconnected. this video really helps me feel less alone , i love your content soso much emily !!! 💞💞💞
me: *Mexican but born in America*
someone: are you Italian?
me: *googles my name, meaning its blond in Italian*
Banana Stalker so your name is Bionda ?
Are you blond tho?
@@r.b.4338 no, black as coal, no one in my family, or distant relative are blond.
Relatable name translation, my name in Hebrew(not username) means something interesting(not literally, but metaphorically)
I have the opposite problem to where ive been asked to translate spanish even tho im italian
Classmate: hey can you read this?
*chinese text*
Me: no i don’t know chinese, i’m thai
Classmates: didn’t you say you were Asian?
Me:🤯
I can relate, btw hello fellow thai
*Google is your friend.*
hello fellow thais
glad to be here
I’m half Chinese and idk how to read Chinese but I can read a little Thai
lol im 25 percent thai and i cant even read it so whenever my kun yaai is visiting i feel awkward because she really wants me to learn it lol
This is one my favourite videos of yours. I can’t express how much I relate to this, especially in the language department. I’m a Sri Lankan Canadian btw. The weird thing is that when you forget about your own culture, you naturally get more interested in other cultures. I’ve been speaking French since forever and love Japanese music. Idk how I’ll change but I just wanted you to know that you weren’t the only kid like that 😊
I enjoyed your video immenselly. I'm Uruguayan and for very odd circumstances, I am of two nations, Uruguay and the US. I first came to the US with my parents at age 5 years and 10 months, then went back at age 10, then came back at age 17. To say that I was totally lost and felt uprooted repeatedly is an understatement. I lost friedships so many times I lost count. But fortunately I turned out 100% fluent in both languages, yet with a lot of heartache and emotional upheaval too.
Yet despite all this, I found myself identifying with you so much. I guffawed out loud at several points because I could see your situations and empathize with you. I laughed not at you but with you, feeling I somehow knew that even though you felt strange, you also knew who you were and were fine with it. And it was exhilarating to hear what you went through and how you overcame it.
Well, just to say I loved your life story. I will subscribe to your channel and I look forward to many good moments during your videos.
Emily: crying over an 88%
Me when I get an 65% in middle school: hell yeah
As long as I don't utterly fail then I'm fine
asia 101 welcome to hk
Me getting a 26% on a sundanese test:
Im not suprised, this was bound to happen
Me get 25% out of 100%: FUCK YEAHHH!!!!!!
The highest percentage I have in school is 91% percentage for Life Orientation
My mum: "Learn to speak Spanish"
Me: *goes and learns French*
Me to my mum: "Je ne veux pas apprendre Espagnol"
My mum: *fluent in French as well*
Me: *le gasp*
😂😂
😂😂😂😂😂😂
The fact that you speak French makes "le gasp" funnier--
I can 100% relate to that, growing up in Quebec with Salvadoran parents, I ended up learning and speaking more french and English than spanish
I was dying of laughing cuz french is my main language xD
I’ve also had a similar identity crisis. I’m half Mexican and half Japanese (My mom is Mexican and my Dad is Japanese) and I was born in the U.S. Meaning I felt the pressure from my Japanese half to be super smart and gifted and know the language and be super in touch with all the Japanese traditions. And for my Mexican half the expectations were also to learn the language and the cultural traditions, but also to make my family proud and have a super successful job in order to support my family. And I’m also the artist child out of my other siblings who want to be scientists or doctors and it just made me feel super disconnected to both my Mexican and my Japanese roots.
I can’t believe how you succinctly you’ve summarised everything I’ve been feeling into this one video. Thanks so much :)
me: *italian*
Me: *doesnt like pizza or cheese*
Family: *SHAME*
ASL Lydia oof that sucks, I’m Italian and I love all Italian food lol
Omar Dana nah, lactose sensitive but nothing serious
@@asllydia2407 same but i just cant drink milk
I'm part italian too and my i can tell my granddad judges me for not knowing a single goddamn word of italian lmao
Shame
This comment section is the most worldwide thing I've seen in a while. BTW I'm Brazilian.
Thanks for the heart!
Aaaahhh. I'm Brazilian American
same
sameee
Same here bud! My parents and two older sisters were born in Brazil but i was born in America. Ive never even been there sooooo. Heh...
I’m glad you were able to get through your struggles with your roots and became the person you are today. God speed Emily
I went through similar experiences as a half-Vietnamese Puertorican kid growing up. Great to see this video being made the way it was. It was very relatable!
**Sees dark skin**
Person: Are you from Africa? Do you speak African?
Me: I'm from Jamaica, we speak english there
Person: Which country in Africa is that?
Me:😤
wow, "speak african". who actually says that? "Sorry ma'am I speak American thanks for asking".
Did that actually happen(I also have dark skin).
Another Jamaican! Hi.
One of my friends thought I was only Korean and not Asian. They used to think Korea wasn’t in Asia.
I hate when the people say "Do you speak African?" 😂 It's not correct guys!
*”My two older brothers!”*
Me: *Saitama and Genos*
Indeed
That's what I thought
Y e s.
I cried, because...I have the same exactly situation growing up, but instead of English it was Romanian, and instead of Korean it was Italian...I still can't learn Italian, and all my family members look down on me...
Bro this is TOO relatable. Especially calling the grandparents over the phone wtfffff. 😂
Classmate: Yo man. Can you read this?
*Shows Chinese*
Me: Nah man. I don't know how to read in Chinese.
Classmate: I thought you were Asian.
Me: Dude. I'm from Pakistan.
Classmate: So does that mean you're not Asian?
Me: *:/*
This girl once said to me that she thought Pakistan was in Africa.......she’s literally Asian herself???????
@@zeno.7519 I actually remember referring to my Indian friend as Asian and he got so mad at me and everyone (including my other Indian friends) kinda made fun of him for not knowing that I was correct 😂
EDIT: We were in high school at the time, so he should have known that by then.
I'm Half-Filipino and I got so tired of people in middle and high school finding this out and saying I wasn't Asian, I was a Pacific Islander.
@@zeno.7519 same with philipino. People seem to closer relate us with being latino when we are still asian. Also, the lack of chopsticks is another thing. One of my asian friends tried arguing with me that I'm not asian because pinoy people don't use chopsticks, it was honestly a rediculous conversation between 5th graders, but it made me question my identity. Also, even though it was between 5th graders, i've no doubt that some adults believe it too because where would my friend have got it from if it wasn't from his parents.
"lol can u speak indian"...I just find this phrase funny.
How to learn any language:
1) set your desired language on all your devices
2) figure it out from there
Tried it before but the only thing I got good at was diagnostics. It made me sound even weirder when I began listing directories.
@@inventor121 lol.
That only works with the written language for me.
Me failing to navigate my parents devices because it's all in Chinese and they have the gall to ask what's taking so long?
d u o l i n go
This was so incredibly resonant with me. I've been considering doing a video essay on my own channel about my Asian-American identity crisis, and I have to say, this video was such an inspiration. It mirrors my own journey so closely (with the exception of my being biracially Japanese and Filipino, so no language aside from English was ever spoken at home) that I can't help but see how universal this issue is among first-generation American kids.
Thank you so much for sharing all of this. It's truly so powerful.
I’m Bangladeshi-Pakistani-Arab-American and it’s extremely confusing for me bc my grandparents and parents speak different languages and my grandparents are always bugging me to learn all these different languages and I’m not that interested in my culture (or the clothes there itchy 😭), so I can completely relate
“Secretly hoping we’d run out of time before we play it”
Me: *my mind when we have to perform in front of the class*
*time runs out*
*Yours is postponed to be the first one the next day*
*insert shocked pikachu face
@@timpark02 that was me. I was supposed to do a presentation the next day and then the pandemic hit
LOL same
@Bro Zieg You’re lucky!
I felt this.
I have a similar story:
-I was born in china
-I moved to canada when i was 1
-I have chinese side of family
-I know nothing about chinese culture
-My chinese side of the family knows how to speak chinese
-i dont know how to speak to most of them
-I NEED HELP
UwU
So your ethnicity is China and nationality china not very confusing
I am filipino and I was born in Britain & I also don’t know how to speak my language & so I always get super embarrassed when I meet new family members as they don’t speak English. I also don’t know a lot about filipino culture unfortunately, so I feel your pain
@RUOQI XU i can speak it too but i cant write the chinese character XD
so relatable, except for i wasn't born in china. uwu
I watch your videos here and there when they pop up on my feed this video today was one of them, I’m hispanic and I grew up until a certain age on a island I felt a real connection with this video because it is the same in all aspects I’m trying to get better for my grandpas sake as the English to Spanish is not working well as it used to since my detachment but thank you for making the video I thought I was really alone on something like this…..
Thanks for this video. Just found your channel. Every young person goes through something like this growing up in a different country.
Emily's older bro is literally the most badass person ever.
"Fight me" on the recommended list
i do that too. one thing worst than looking someone in the eye is them looking at me
You know what they say about bald people
*They trade their hair for power*
@@squidpedia8682 Yeah, big power is given to few chosen ones who sacrifice there hair.
Yessee
The biggest problem is when you are not “American” for the Americans but not “Korean” for the Koreans
Yup
The Chinese have this term called Jook-sing or zuk-sing (竹升). It means, "bamboo" which in Chinese, its a negative connotation with Westernized Asians.
Felt that one, but German
It funny because "American" doesnt truly mean anything unless you white or black.
I'm different I'm a not Bruneians to the Bruneians and not a Malaysian to the Malaysians eventhough both of the countries are Malays it's the accent ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ
Oh man, what a touching story, glad you summon courage to openly speak about it like this.
Can relate as Tatar/Russian person, who very rarely and poorly speak on tatar language, but can understand most of it. Identity crisis is such a weird thing. Even if you don't care, you feel bad about you parents or close ones about other people asking them uncomfortable questions.
9:10 Ouch. That kinda hurt.
My friend: You're Korean, right?
Me: No actually-
My friend: Oh so you're Japanese.
Me: No, I'm Chinese.
My friend: ... oh well same thing
omg RELATEABLE
same but im korean
Anime? More like Chinese Cartoons.
Its the same exact thing for me but I'm Mongolian
My friend’s Parents are from Hong Kong and everyone calls her Korean and Japanese to the point where she is like. “Yea sure”
me: *knows english but is hispanic*
my family: *wants me to learn spanish*
me:...no *learns japanese*
*cries with similar experience but Tagalog*
English is considered to be one of the hardest languages to learn. You are very fortunate to be able to read, speak and write it.
@@calypsosystem3726 you and me both. you and me both
I know how you feel my family members are Jamaican/Trinidadian even though we all speak English I don’t connect with the culture at all because of how I don’t visit often they joke and say to my parents “she’s so American” but I have the disconnect because I was the only one of my siblings who wasn’t born in the Caribbean and it frustrates me sometimes
You: "haha get nae naed" _dabs_
It’s been a few years I watched your channel. Holy cow, the quality of your drawings and video became insane.
i am south korean too! my mom is also sometimes worried that i mostly speak english with her but she always says if i talk english 'He! speak korean!' and then sometimes i found it harder or just still speak english but now times i trie to leurn more and speak more korean its a nice launguage, (i am not to good in writing enlinh sorry lol) i whas born in korea but we where a travel family and traveld over the world. I also lived in korea but after years my parents wanted to travel again. My mother is korean but my dad is netherlads so we now live some years in the netherlands. So i get your problems too! Only because i lived now in netherlands and traveled my korean also went down. I whas better at it when i whas younger because we where living in korea. but now i live in the Netherlands it went down only i still have the korean culture in my mind. So i have to deal with this with three laungauges. But i love korea! they have good food and everything. So i get your feelings :) its oke to not be that good at korean just like me:) i watch korean tv shows with engilsh descripton their are tv shows to leurn more korean
Heritage: Chinese
Classmates: Brings Chinese text over.
Me: Can't read Chinese.
Classmates: (゜ロ゜)
Kid in my school: I'm Chinese
My classmates: m.th-cam.com/video/5qhd5YJoJzE/w-d-xo.html
literally
thabksu_ haha lol
This but I’m Vietnamese but they still bring Chinese text over.
Yep I can speak it but not read it
Me: Filipino-American
My Parents: Don’t teach me their language or culture
Also My Parents: Disappointed that I’m not magically bilingual
Me: ( ; - ; )ノ
Bruh same but British 😅
To add to the irony, I'm a white American, but I lived in the Philippines for 2 years as a missionary and speak Hiligaynon, Tagalog, and Karaya fluently and picked up on a lot of aspects of Filipino culture. Ang puso kong pinoy
bro same
relatable T-T
FELT THAT
i love the symbolization of the different nationalitys as flowers so much omg
i kinda relate to this as a hispanic american feeling like i should learn spanish because more than half of my family only speaks that. this video is like so good
I am white, like super white, and have never even left america, but I have faced insane racism. I moved to a mainly Mexican city in the U.S., and the way that kids and adults treated me was surprising. I got called colonizer all the time, but when I made jokey remarks in return, it wasn't okay. I was joking with my friend and she called me a colonizer, and I called her a border hopper. I wasnt mad, in fact we both were laughing, but a teacher heard us and called me over. She said it wasn't okay for me to say that and I understood, she was an adult and we were being edgy. But here's what hurt. She never scolded my friend.
“He just stared right back at him until he got uncomfortable”
Yo legit, your brother is a straight up badass
I thought that was kind of a normal passive-aggressive response? I do that too and never thought much of it...
Torlak Kårstad Woah calm down there mister badass, You are so cool... I’m jealous. No but seriously it isn’t a big deal for most people but if a person doesn’t do it they might be more timid or just feel a certain amount of respect should be given but personally I wouldn’t stand for it either and I feel as if most people (especially men) would stare right back to reciprocate their feelings about what was occurring.
Dude… if someone stares at me i always say to my head "Does he/she hate me we never met, okay okay relax... deep breath just dont make eye contact and everything will be fine" i get nervous really i always think that did i do something wrong or have something wrong with me :/
Bruh I just read that when she said it
I did tried once, but it didn't last long bc staring back is also uncomfortable.
Family: “oh you don’t know Vietnamese fluently? What are you w h i t e”
Me: *tries to speak viet and mess up a word*
Family: *makes fun of me so I feel stupid and stops learning* “why aren’t you learning viet?”
Stop describing my life!
Ahh, same! Whenever I try to speak it, it always sounds weird and just plain broken and I just end up not speaking it at all because of how it sounds. I try to mimic my parents Vietnamese accent whenever they say things but it’s always hard;;;
So true. I’m hating Vietnamese and trying to avoid the culture itself
Me learning Lao
And when you’re able to say a word or phrase correctly and they just act like you became the president or something-
I can definitely relate. I am Sri Lankan but grew up in Australia but, whenever talking to my grandparents or relatives, they would ask how much Sinhalese I have learnt so far & I never learnt much at all. I would be really envious when visiting a cousin younger than me who knew Sinhalese completely while they only spoke English to me. I got really emotional watching this video as it felt as my Sri Lankan culture started shrinking & wilting as in your video
This video relates to me the most. I've spent my entire life in the philippines, and still less than mediocre in the language. I still feel embarrassed about how it was mostly my fault that i'm on that level now. I don't know if I didn't try enough, or that I just don't expose myself to it often, but I feel like a burden having to communicate with a lot of my friends and relatives in english. I feel like I don't show enough respect to my country's native language, even though english is commonly used here.
My parents: *Speak Russian*
Me: *English word* *Russian word* *English word*
That's me too
Ahaha same!
Same with Slovakian!
Lol same here but with Bulgarian. My parents think I'm a disappointment because they know Russian and I don't, someone halp.
Saem with me but with tagalog words lol
My family: *has Hispanic ancestors*
Me: learns French like some sort of traitor
I'm a British filipino and instead of learning the filipino language, I'm learning Spanish and Finnish.
Related
My family: Nepalese parents
Me: tries to learn Japanese and Spanish
Me: Filipino parents
Also me: Tries to learn fucking Thai.
Im full Filipino yet I speak English
HAHAHHA can relate
I’ve never fully related to a video before…I’m Latina and don’t speak barely any Spanish. All my relatives are Spanish speaker and I feel the same as you. It makes me feel so bad about myself and I almost cried realizing I’m not just weird and need to get over myself. This is a real thing and now I’m know I’m not alone. Thank you Emily ^^
I can relate to this because I am, in fact, one of the few Latinos who can't speak and understand Spanish properly. I was diagnosed with autism in 1st grade and was also diagnosed with ADHD when I was 16.
Also, my parents get mad at me for not speaking and understanding Spanish. I always feel like a misfit and I don't fit in a lot with the other Mexican American students in my school.
By the way, this was the first video I watched on your channel, and I could relate to this.
My dad: *german*
My mom: *italian*
Me only knowing Spanish and English: *german hello?*
if one of your grandparents is japanese, the trifecta is complete
thats a joke waiting to happen
Guten Tag
@@eggsage7679 The perfect punchline
Herr greetings?
"yo how tf do you speak such good english"
sir I was born here
I can relate so much.
Dude, once my Mandarin teacher asked me where I was from and I replied "Texas." I looked her dead in the eye and we stared at each other for a good 20 seconds.
@@henryyin2471 holy moly , make it more , add 1 hours
:p
Ever get the "no, where are you really from?" lol its badly worded, so I just let the loop continue for as long as possible. Gotta enjoy the little things
SolracJ88 No, I just get more questions going back in my history. Where are you from? Where did you grow up? Where were you born? Where are your parents from? I honestly didn’t notice what they were getting at so I’ve had this exchange with multiple people and one even chuckled like I was giving the wrong answers. I wasn’t being difficult, I was just answering the questions being asked. Now that I know what it’s about, I wish I was third or fourth generation so I could just keep going.
I'm a Korean born and raised in South Korea, but I've met so many people in college who were going through similar crises like yours. One of my friends is ethnically Indonesian, was born in Argentina, spent his childhood in Russia, went to school in France, and is now studying in South Korea. He spoke French, Russian, and English, but none of them fluently. He was the most interesting person I've ever met. My identity is like Mondrian's paintings, while his is like Kandinsky's. I somewhat fit into Korean society, but I'm narrow-sighted, and I have trouble understanding other cultures. Him, on the other hand, doesn't fit in, but he has a wider scope of view, and he's quick to embrace new cultures. I hope he can realize someday that his mixed identity is a virtue, and that it makes him truly unique.
As a first generation Cuban American I feel this so profoundly and deeply in the pits of my soul
The whole "understanding a language but not being able to speak it" and "language barrier with family" and "being compared to other people " and the SHAME....I can very much relate too
(We love you for who you are Emily and who you will be ❤)
same, it always feels so bad to not be able to speak the language of my other half of the family, romanian ;-; it feels so weird
I relate too my gosh every time I go to my hometown(?) Me and my sister (my brother learnt the language and left me and my sister in the dust) would always have a hard time. But all our cousins from my mum's side also spoke English so we would talk to them,......
Then get scolded for "preventing them from learning the language"
Also the whole "I want to be white" thing is very common, but I feel like there's also some people that say "I wish I was Asian" (East Asian) and I am partly ashamed of myself for thinking this way but it's true. I think a lot of people don't really talk about it so I see Emily as being brave for coming out and talking about it.
Good on you Emily♥️♥️
Hi fellow ash lol
OMG YES!
Ash Lost my mom tells me not to speak english in the philippines because i’ll be kidnapped lol
lives in uk:
"why is your accent weird"
goes to lithuania (home country):
"why is your accent weird"
-.-
big bruh
Lithuania gay.
Perfectly balanced
Alwayzbooster no u
@@alwayzbooster7721 *show UNO reverse card
I love that you used arirang as the end song.
I remember one time my sister screaming to me "Why do I have an Asian family?!" It absolutely broke my heart, while starting some questions about my own cultural identity. Having pressure from both sides can be difficult. I still deal with it sometimes. But i've learned now to live in both worlds, and not being ashamed.
Happens to me too. If you feel awkward I recommend speaking most of a sentence in a language you usually communicate with and replacing one or two words in that sentence with the language ur trying to get comfortable speaking. Adding a lighthearted/joking tone and a delay also helps.