Indifferent Ian

My full name is Ian Sean Huang in English, and it sounds basically the same in Chinese (but with accents). I've actually never thought too much about my name, so I haven't noted anything about it except for the interesting that it's in many words, and it's exactly half of my sister's name. My mom named me Ian because it's the Scottish version of John, which means "God is gracious" (my middle name, Sean, is the Irish version of John). There's no particular reason why she chose the Scottish and Irish versions of John, except that my name Ian in English is practically identical in sound and meaning to my Chinese name (I wish I could type it... edit: 奕恩). I'm mostly indifferent towards my name, but it's been growing on me because I've started to appreciate that it's a rare enough name to be somewhat interesting, but common enough that I don't have to explain it everywhere. It's also a
very convenient length. Even though I'm not a very devout Christian at this stage of life (who knows what I'll be later on...), I think my name fits me quite well. I remember a short time when I felt a little bit insecure about the somewhat strangeness of my name, but that was just because I was insecure overall. My name has never actually held me back in anything. I think the reason why Gogol hates his name so much is because he had grown up with the idea that it's inconvenient and completely meaningless, until he learns that Gogol was a sick and depressed author who died a virgin. At the end of chapter 5, his dad finally tells him the whole story, and he ends up just being confused because of the opposing viewpoints on his own name in his mind.

Idiosyncratic Integration

Both of my parents immigrated from Taiwan to finish their studies and get jobs in America before I was born, so I identify as Taiwanese even though I was born in California (in Yolo County!) My first language was Chinese/Mandarin, so I am still fluent with it, but I've been so used to using English that my vocabulary in Chinese has deteriorated. Since America, especially California, has such a wide variety of cultures, I've come to appreciate and integrate many of them into my own life. For example, whenever my whole family goes out to eat, we always (well, usually) go to a particular Korean restaurant - Korean food is great. Also, since we love Japanese things, both my sister and I have Japanese decor in our rooms.

I've come to realize, looking beyond these superficial things, that the greatest thing my parents have given me is how I see the world. My parents are both devout Christians, but they are in no way militant Christians. Instead of preaching and lecturing, my parents (usually) show me what to do with their own actions and give me a lot of freedom. Unlike the stereotypical "Asian mom" or "Tiger mom", my mom always discusses things through with me and respects me as a person. In turn, this has helped me have more respect for her. Even though I am a very skeptical person, I'm not completely agnostic or Atheist because of my family. They don't force me to believe anything, but since our personalities are very similar (they are both as skeptical as I am), the fact that both my mom and my sister are Christian gives me some faith. 

If You Judge a Fish by its Ability to Climb a Tree...

Before I had met the kids, I assumed that they would be proficient at english because my buddy from last year was very bright. Unfortunately, I overestimated their capabilities, so I ended up thinking that my kids were not very smart. Their writing was indeed subpar, but it was unfair for me to simply dismiss them as unintelligent, especially since I can be overly critical of writing. I had a single story of my buddies' intelligence based entirely on how well they could formulate a sentence, so of course it wasn't very fair. I have no idea whether English is their first or second language and I have no idea how they're doing in other subjects. Even though I was initially frustrated with my buddies' writing, I have been able to maintain a levelheaded and supportive attitude towards them, and they have really been improving. I've come to realize that if you give someone the chance, they will often rapidly improve and exceed your expectations. I think this idea has been influenced by the way my parents raised me, because they have always believed in me even when I haven't believed in myself.