Scholarship Essay

By Robert Tan

 

When I was a child, I had to be dragged from bed, kicking and screaming, to go to Chinese School. Like all kids, I wanted to watch Saturday morning cartoons instead of being in a classroom learning material that was essentially foreign to me. Needless to say, I did not enjoy attending Chinese School, and unfortunately, I forgot most of the curriculum I learned there.

I'd have to say the actual learning was the most boring part of Chinese School. The only thing I can remember from the classroom was the long, tedious copying and perfecting the writing of characters in the little blue booklets and reading short passages. However, I really appreciated the close-knit environment, where everybody knew everybody. That took some of the anxiety that is normally associated with school out of Chinese School.

While I detested the school part, there were moments, which I enjoy looking back. There were electives that I took after break. I took origami and magic; I still keep the materials and work that was given to me. In fact, I still play a deck of cards that was given to me in magic class (Bicycle Playing Cards are the best). I fondly look back on the pumpkin/jack-o-lantern contest. I also remember getting cookies with my friends during snack time. At the end of the school year, there was always a picnic that my family and I went to. I remember going to Conejo Creek Park behind the library and wading in the stream trying to catch a big, white rat with Brian Lu, one of my best friends in Chinese School.

When I was seven, I moved to a different part of Thousand Oaks, away from the part of town where most of the Chinese people lived. As a result, I was isolated from my Chinese peers and stuck in a school where there were few Chinese students. Therefore, I had no one to relate with when it came to Chinese School, and this can partly explain my dislike of going to Chinese school. However, this is a cloud with a silver lining. Chinese School allowed me to keep in touch and make friends with Chinese peers, whom I would have never met without going. It was nice to see those familiar faces that I haven't seen in over five years when I attended Thousand Oaks High School.

In hindsight, I'm glad that I was forced to go to Chinese School. While I didn't like (and still don’t) the curriculum that was taught, Chinese School gave me experience and memories that are not easily replaced. The actual school isn't what's memorable, but the things associated with it. Chinese School forced me to open my eyes to a world that separated from me by millions of square miles of ocean. I really appreciate Chinese School for allowing me to recognize my roots and heritage and not letting me ignore those things.