4/19/2010

Week 13: Who is Vanessa?

Who am I? This question never annoys me as I may answer you either “I am a Hongkonger” or “I am Chinese”. Accepting the fact that Hong Kong is a part of China no matter in the past, today or in future even Hong Kong was once a colony of Britain, there is no difference between naming myself as a “Hongkonger” or “Chinese”, and so I do not see why people are struggling in admitting their Chinese identity. Yet, when it comes to the question of the social group that I belong to, I hesitate.

To accurately introduce myself, it is never an easy task as my self identity is shaped by the mass media to a certain extent from time to time. Being one of the Post-80s, Compared to my parents and grandparents, I admit that I am living and growing in a more advantageous environment, with stronger financial, social and technological and family support. Meanwhile, I am also facing lots of challenges in the globalized world full of fierce competition. Yet, I did enjoy in a period of joyful, sweet and memorable childhood. Day-dreaming in lessons while fooling around with my brother, neighbors, classmates and friends in outdoor playgrounds or in the corridors of the government housing estates, these are my collective memories. In the primary stage, when the internet had not yet fully penetrated the HK, I fully enjoyed growing up with my peers who have similar understanding and feelings towards our community and the world. However, when the internet started sweeping our life, my peers’ perception and values towards the world has changed and differed from mine. When being updated through the internet become one of my peers’ heavy media usage in a daily basis, using MSN and Facebook to communicate with others is a must to do. However, I would comment myself as a late comer in the use of MSN and Facebook and I am personally not an internet addict. Hence, sometimes I am commented as an extraordinary and outdated youngster among my friends.

As I grow up in a large Chinese family, I am a pretty conservative person when perceiving the world and interacting with others. Perhaps people describe me as timid, I do think that I benefit from behaving well according to what I learnt form my family. The most important goal in my life time is to progress as a competent person to support my family as collectivism is a critical cultural influence. Among all the virtues, being sincere and acting not to violate ethics are the most important values which guide my life.

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