NEWS

Winman student says: ‘stay true to yourself’

Posted 7/6/22

By ALEX MALM

When Jaylene Le got the list of topics she was allowed to write about for her National Junior Honor Society application essay she instantly knew what she would write about.

Her …

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NEWS

Winman student says: ‘stay true to yourself’

Posted

By ALEX MALM


When Jaylene Le got the list of topics she was allowed to write about for her National Junior Honor Society application essay she instantly knew what she would write about.

Her family.

“I chose to do one on my family because they are one of the most important people in my life and I cherish them very much,” said Le.

Winman Principal Adam Heywood  said that all the essays had to go in front of a Committee of 12 teachers. Le’s essay was selected as the top one out of 42 different ones.

Le, whose parents are immigrants from Vietnam, said that she first began to learn English when she attended school.

“I eventually learned English through the help of my big sister and school,” said Le.

Growing up in Warwick Le  said that she didn’t meet many other First Generation Americans like herself.

“I didn’t have a lot of people that I could relate to,” said Le.

When she was in elementary school Le said that other students would comment that her features were different from the other students in the class.

Le said that she would try to fit in by changing herself to fit in with the norms of the school.

“It damaged me a lot,”  said Le.

But Le  said she eventually realized that not being true to herself was a mistake. It was the core message during her speech during the Junior Honor Society ceremony.

“I think my message is to stay true to yourself and not try to be influenced by other people’s opinions,” said Le.

Le explained that the pivotal moment for her to decide that she wanted to be true to herself was when the covid-19 pandemic began.

Le said that there was a lot of racism happening, noting that a lot of people blamed Asians for the pandemic.

“That's what I would hear in the halls at school,” said Le.

Le said that there was a spike in Asiant hate crimes across the country and she knew that she needed to be true to herself and her culture.

“I felt that if it could happen to other people it could happen to my family,” said Le.

Le described pushing away her Vietnamese heritage by doing things like speaking more English at home with her parents.

But Le said that when she reflects on the struggles that her parents faced when they came to America in their 20s she feels lucky. Le  said that when her parents came they weren’t able to finish college because they had to work to support themselves and to also bring their other family members over.  Le said that they also didn’t have the opportunity to learn English in school.

“It was a lot easier for me than it was for them,” said Le.

Le said that both of her parents are able to speak both languages now.

Le said now she is proud to be Asian, is proud of her culture, and is proud to be able to speak two languages.

“I should be able to feel confident in my own skin,” said Le.

Le said that she feels that her Vietnamese isn’t as fluent as she wants it to be. She said it is largely because she didn’t practice it as much at home as much because she pushed it away.

Le said her hope is to be able to learn more this summer and by the time she is an adult be able to speak it fluently with her parents.

Winman, essay

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