Category: Unit 1

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Teachable Moments Final Paper Unit 1

Teachable Moments Final Paper

Vulnerability is Resilience 

Growing up in an immigrant household taught me how to be strong. Seeing how hard my parents work has made me stronger. My parents currently work as a seamstress and a cook. Without knowing an ounce of English, and without understanding any American culture, my parents were able to make a living for our family upon immigrating to New York City from Taishan, China. My parents didn’t win the lottery, nor did they inherit money from their own parents. But they worked from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM as minimum wage workers hoping to provide their children a life they couldn’t afford back in China. My parents come home with bruises on their bodies; I see them slap their bones as a way of relieving their body aches. Over the years, I’ve seen my parents’ full set of black hair transition to have more noticeable locks of gray hair. I’ve noticed their eyes have dropped by the end of a long day’s work; it was as if there were sandbags hanging from their eyes making it impossible for them to keep their eyes open. All these were purely visual observations because not once have they orally complained about how tired or stressed they were. Right after work, they would get straight into cooking dinner for my brother and I, and the day would end shortly after. My childhood made me resilient. Seeing my parents work through their problems and continuously persist through their pains as a means of supporting their family made me resilient.

However, seeing my parents work so persistently has also made me feel guilty. I couldn’t relieve them of their pains, nor was I able to work as hard as them to alleviate the financial pressure of the household. Instead of putting myself down, I used this guilt and I made it my goal to work hard in school. By doing good in school I will pave the way for me to become financially stable enough to support myself and my parents in the future. With this goal in mind, I became very focused and active in school. During freshman year of high school, I joined a program called SEO Scholars which offered additional SAT prep classes.  I joined Key Club. I made a club of my own called the Mental Health Club. I joined my school’s Varsity Badminton Team. I did all these extracurriculars while maintaining my schoolwork as a means of paving my route to success, as a means of building my resume. However, I found myself sacrificing my sleep because I had to finish an essay for my class, I had to plan out a lesson for the Mental Health Club, or I had to get my community service hours in for Key Club. Whenever I felt like giving up, I looked back to my parents who didn’t hesitate to take on that twelve-hour shift to accomplish their goals. I knew I couldn’t quit either. My parents told me something early on: “Show people you are strong, so you gain their respect. Don’t let people know you’re weak, because they will walk over you.” This quote kept me motivated with my schoolwork; however, it didn’t prepare me for what was to come.


“Anna’s a catfish.”
“Anna wears too much makeup.”
“Anna’s ugly and unrecognizable without makeup.”

Until this point, it didn’t occur to me that my resilience could be subjective. I was able to push through any school related issue, but I couldn’t push through a random person’s comments about me. I have to stay up all night to finish my essay before class? No problem. I have five assignments all due tomorrow? No problem. I failed my test? No problem. I will just work harder next time. It seemed like nothing could have prepared me to face people’s critiques about me. Though my visuals have been judged by my aunties before, it felt different this time. I felt my heart sink when my friend told me what others were saying about me. I remember tugging the blanket beside me because what my friend was saying over the phone didn’t feel real to me. Soon after she told me people were calling me a catfish, the sound of her voice became more faint. Her voice was drowned out by my own thoughts.

“Am I a catfish?”

“Why would they even say that?”

“Should I start wearing less makeup?” 

“Does everybody believe that?”

“Are my friends just being nice to me when they say their words are false?”

I ended up squeezing my blanket a little harder. When I finally came back to reality, I thanked my friend for telling me what happened. Then, I hung up the phone. I couldn’t show any more of my weakness. I told myself, “People will walk over you when they see you are weak.” The best thing I could do after was focus on my school work. I gave myself a headstart on the math homework, and began solving equations. However, the equations on the worksheet didn’t translate to my brain. 

“Am I a catfish?”

“Why would they say that?”

“Should I start wearing less makeup?” 

“Does everybody believe that?”

“Are my friends just being nice to me when they say their words are false?”

I felt this mass burden on my shoulders that prevented me from picking up my pencil. But, with the little strength and control that I had, I called my friend. I explained all the thoughts I had in my head. Water gushed out of my eyes at the speed of light. My face became as bright as a red tomato. As each sentence came out of my mouth, it felt like a pound of sand was falling off of my shoulder. Without all the weight on my shoulders, I was able to gain some clarity. 

“I am not a catfish.”

“They are wrong for what they said, and they aren’t qualified to judge me because they don’t know.”

“I am the only one qualified to judge me.”

“I will stay the way I am.”

“I am beautiful the way I am.”

I certainly gained my strength and resilience from my parents, but, in this moment, I taught myself something about resilience. Being vulnerable does not make me weak. Being able to process my feelings and be vocal about my distress or insecurity does not make me any less respectable. There’s strength in being vulnerable. Being vulnerable helps me understand how I am feeling. Being vulnerable helps me rationalize my thoughts. Being vulnerable helps me overcome obstacles. Being vulnerable makes me resilient.

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Teachable Moments Draft Unit 1

Teachable Moments Draft

Growing up in an immigrant household taught me how to be strong. Certainly, after each outspoken comment from my judgmental Aunties about my body, love life, or capabilities at school, one less tear shed from my eyes. Surely, my thick skin comes from handling my extended family’s unintentional bullying. All jokes aside, seeing how hard my parents work has made me stronger. My parents currently work as a seamstress and cook. These are two feats in itself because both of my parents immigrated to New York from Taishan, China without knowing an ounce of English or understanding American culture. Even without knowing English, they found a way to make a living not only for themselves but also my brother and I. With, I’ve personally witnessed them working full twelve-hour shifts as a means of providing for the family, and not once have I heard them excessively complain about the work they have to do. I’ve seen bruises on their bodies. I’ve seen a gradual growth of gray hair on their head. I’ve seen them slap their bones as a way of relieving their body aches. But never once did they heavily complain. This in turn made me resilient. Seeing them work through their problems and continuously persist through their pains as a means of supporting their family made me understand the importance of staying resilient myself.

With this in mind, I have been able to succeed as I have now. My goal is to be able to financially support myself and my parents in the future. Anytime I had to stay up late to finish an assignment or study did not bother me at all because I centered myself back to my goal. I knew that all my hard work would pay off in the end just like my parent’s selfless hard work has helped them achieve their goals in the end. As much as I gained my resilience from watching my parents work, they have also instilled a specific mindset in me. Growing up, they always told me “Never let people see you sweat or cry.” “Show people you are strong, and they will treat you with respect. They won’t walk over you if they know you are strong.” Having heard this all my life, I couldn’t help but make it my mantra. No matter how tired I was, or how stressed I was, I mainly kept it to myself knowing I needed to hide my weakness. I needed to appear strong, so my peers around me treat me with respect. However, this all came crumbling down when an unexpected situation happened.

About a year ago, comments were being made about my appearance, and I found out I wasn’t as strong as I realized. To bring context to this situation, I started experimenting with makeup the summer of sophomore year, coincidentally during the pandemic when most of my days consisted of me being at home. I dabbled with eyeliner and eyebrow pencils initially, but my interest with makeup grew to include blush, contour and foundation. I found a way to express myself through makeup whether it be choosing a certain blush or changing the styling of my eyeliner. However, people began to talk about my appearance saying I wore too much makeup, or I didn’t look like myself. At the time, I took their hurtful words as the truth, and I couldn’t perceive myself without considering how others felt about me. 

Because I was taught to never let anyone see my weakness, I ended up hiding the hurt I really felt. In front of my friends, I was angry. In my mind, anger showed more strength than crying because it showed I was confident enough to know what others were saying were not true about me. I went days on end bottling up my feelings until one day I finally broke. I facetimed my friend and began confessing how hurt I was. She was there for me; she listened to my anger, my sadness, and my hesitation. In the moment I felt heard and cared for. She reassured me that their words were invalid and shared my anger. She helped me see the situation in a different light. Not to say that I completely have control over my emotions now, but I have learned to prioritize my views over anyone else’s. At the end of the day, no one has been with me for as long as I have been with myself. Even when I tried to change my appearance to please everyone else, it didn’t change the sentiments behind their comments. If it wasn’t “she wears too much makeup,” it became “what’s wrong with her? She should put makeup on.” Through and through, the sentiments behind both statements were the same; both were expressions of insensitive jokes intended to humor people at my expense. It took a while for me to realize there will always be one person who will judge me for anything and everything I do, but once I did it became easier to drown their opinions out. This moment of vulnerability I shared with my friend brought clarity to a misconception I’ve had my whole life.

In this moment I learned that there’s strength in being vulnerable. In being vulnerable with my friend and confiding in her, I gained another family member. I realized that those who matter, won’t judge me at my lowest. I would even say I am stronger than I was before because I am able to be vulnerable with people and realize the strength in being able to talk about my problems with others. My friend has now become my sister, someone who I unconditionally love and can depend on no matter what situation is going on in my life. I am still as resilient as I was before. I am still focused on my goal of providing financial stability for my family and I. However, this time, I am able to go through all of this knowing I have a friend beside me who is also pushing me through the mental obstacles I have.

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Teachable Moments Abstract Unit 1

Teachable Moments – Abstract

I always knew people weren’t angels. Most people may be inherently ethical when it comes to situations like stealing or assault, but everybody’s ethics seem to falter when it comes to gossip. And again, this understanding is engrained in me, but when I found out the gossip was surrounding me and my appearance, it took a toll on me. I couldn’t decipher whether what people were saying about me were true or not, and I let their judgements cloud my perception of myself.

The journey to improving my self-confidence after this situation was long and hard, but also rewarding. Through rationalizing my thoughts with friends who knew me, I managed to change my perception of myself and recognize my perception of myself is most accurate. I am speaking about this experience because I believe everyone goes through this struggle of self-confidence as they’re coming of age. At the end of the day, I don’t want to sugar coat it. We can’t control what people will say about us and people are going to be nasty. But, we can change the narrative and realize their insensitive comments intended to humor others at our expense is immature.

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Teachable Moments Writing Hormesis Activity Unit 1

Teachable Moments Writing Hormesis Activity

About a year ago, comments were made about my appearance, and the person I was at the time was not strong enough to decipher whose opinion mattered and whose didn’t matter. To my younger self, let me tell you where those people ended up: probably onto bigger and better things but one thing’s for sure, they’re not a part of your life. 

To bring context to this situation, I started experimenting with makeup the summer of sophomore year, coincidentally during the pandemic when most of my days consisted of me being at home. I dabbled with eyeliner and eyebrow pencils initially, but my interest with makeup grew to include blush, contour and foundation. I found a way to express myself through makeup whether it be choosing a certain blush or changing the styling of my eyeliner. However, people began to talk about my appearance. At the time, I took their hurtful words as the truth, and I couldn’t perceive myself without considering how others felt about me. 

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After cold shower:

Not to say that I completely have control over my emotions now, but I have learned to prioritize my views over anyone else’s. At the end of the day, no one has been with me for as long as I have been with myself. Even when I tried to change my appearance to please everyone else, it didn’t change the sentiments behind their comments. If it wasn’t “she wears too much makeup,” it became “what’s wrong with her? She should put makeup on.” Through and through, the sentiments behind both statements were the same; both were expressions of insensitive jokes intended to humor people at my expense. It took a while for me to realize there will always be one person who will judge me for anything and everything I do, but once I did it became easier to drown their opinions out. And, as mentioned prior, the people who have made comments about me, they may possibly be onto bigger and better things. However, they are no longer a part of my life. They don’t know me like I know myself, so they’re unqualified to insensitively criticize me. 

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Reflection: 

Taking a cold shower altered the experience I had with writing. In the beginning, I definitely was more particular about what I wrote. I really thought the structure of my response through, but I also tried to be very descriptive with my experience. This includes listing the different makeup I wore and listing the different makeup aspects that helped me express myself. However, after taking a cold shower, I became more focused on the event itself. Instead of going on a tangent and providing context to my journey with makeup, I went straight into what people said, how it made me feel, and what I began to realize. On my part, I see more directness in my writing after taking a shower. I see this directness in the form of not sugarcoating how I felt about people’s comments: I thought they were insensitive jokes that were intended to make people laugh at my expense.

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Teachable Moments Writing Mimesis Activity Unit 1

Teachable Moments Writing Mimesis Activity

Before jotting down a piece of writing:

I have always been a skeptic of mental health. I knew it existed, but I never realized I would be impacted as much as I had when I was hit with my own mental health issues. My friends and I always joked about being depressed because of school, but again, I never realized the extent of how bad it could get if I were to continuously neglect my mental health. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit, that I had my run in with mental health issues. After staying home all day, repeating the same cycle of logging onto zoom for class, completing assignments, and sleeping, it realized just how important human interaction was for me. As much as I was able to pull my weight in school when I had to to preserve my grade, I just wasn’t happy. A loss of appetite became normal for me. The lack of motivation to put my best work forward in my assignment and slowed movements became apparent months into the pandemic. 

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Excerpt from Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

“Astrid was dubious. ‘Really? But he was so adamant about wanting a divorce.’ 

‘Think about it–Michael’s deluded himself into thinking he’s been trapped in an impossible marriage for the past five years. But a funny thing happens when men truly get a taste of freedom, especially when they’re accustomed to married life. They begin to crave that domestic bliss again. They want to re-create it. Look, he told you he didn’t blame you, aside from blowing too much money on clothes. My instinct tells me that if you just let him be, he will come back.’ 

‘Well, it’s worth a try, isn’t it?’ Astrid said hopefully.

‘It is. But you have to promise me two things: first, you need to live your life the way you want to, instead of how you think Michael would want you to. Move into one of your favorite houses, dress however it pleases you. I really feel that what ate into Michael was the way you spent all yout time tiptoeing around him, trying to be someone you weren’t.’” (Kwan 488)

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After jotting down an excerpt:

With the whole pandemic happening, there seemed to be so much time for me to just think. I filled that time worrying about how I wasn’t doing enough to concrete my future. In other words, I felt my own resume was lacking, and there was so much more I could do to improve my character. However, I wasn’t being true to myself, and neither was I being fair to myself. We were living in a pandemic for god sake. Looking back, I don’t think I gave myself enough slack. I was being too hard on myself, and this eventually led to my burnout. With this struggle with my mental health, I also realized, it’s never a question of will it happen again. The question is when. But this time, I will know how to combat it. I will know how to face it head on. 

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Reflection:

When I started my writing prompt, I was in a very disorganized state. I wasn’t sure how to go about introducing my teachable moment, and the fact that I didn’t know how to best portray my feelings or experience made the writing process very difficult. After I copied down an excerpt from my favorite book, Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, I felt more secure about writing about my experience. By instinct, I began to emulate Kevin Kwan’s structure. Similar to the excerpt I jotted down, I began to reflect on why my mental health issues arose. This is similar to the author reflecting on Michael’s possible thought process in the divorce. Then, I noticed Kwan talking about what Astrid should do to improve her situation with her divorce. Because I appreciated the structure of this excerpt, I also started to reflect on what I must do from now on in order to improve my situation. All of this showed that, my quality of writing improved in terms of structure after copying my selected passage.