“I’m the first generation on my mom’s side born on American soil.”
This is a statement I’ve always said with so much pride. Unfortunately, most people didn’t understand. I would explain that my mom was half Japanese and half Czech, she was born in Yokohama, Japan. I would of course get comments like, “Well, you don’t LOOK Japanese!” Others would say, “Well, you’re only a ¼ Japanese. It doesn’t matter.” The latter hurt much more than the former. I’m not just ¼ Japanese. It’s my culture, my heritage, and my ancestry. My mom always made sure I knew about my Japanese culture and heritage. She taught me how to count to 10 in Japanese, say “please” and “thank you”, along with greetings and salutations.
It was exciting learning about my heritage and culture. It meant so much to my mom and I always remember how happy and smiling she was when she was teaching me about Japanese traditions, words, food, etc. My mom never told me, “Well, you’re only a ¼ Japanese.” She would say, “You’re part Japanese you need to know where you come from!”
My grandmother is full Japanese and she loves teaching me about my heritage and culture as well. When I turned 20, she sent me money and told me to buy something to commemorate my 20th birthday. “In Japan, you become an adult when you turn 20.” She explained how important it was and how it was a huge milestone in Japanese culture. I ended up picking out a Tiffany necklace with a pink heart, on the back it has my initials: “R.E.F.”
Back in December, my grandmother gave me a 24karat gold necklace. She told me that “If you ever get into a tornado, or you lose everything to a disaster, you’ll always have something from your family.” My mom later told me my grandmother’s uncle made it. Every time I wear that necklace, I feel so much pride.
I’m so fortunate to have a mom that always instilled so much pride in me at a young age and for teaching me to love myself. I’m glad my grandmother always treated me the same, even though I’m not full Japanese. It means the world to me and I really hope they both know.