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How Selfish Should We Be About Chasing Our Dreams?
I recently watched the movie “Crazy Rich Asians” for the first time. After watching it, one of the things that stood out to me the most was how much I was able to relate to the notion of putting family first — Especially being a first-generation American and coming from an Asian background where family literally means everything.
In Filipino culture, similar with many other Asian cultures, everything you do is for your family and everything you are is because of your family. Ultimately, your family determines your fate.
However, now that times have changed and Asian culture has become increasingly more progressive, younger generations are torn between living in the past versus the present; choosing between tradition and transformation. — This is essentially the conflict that overcomes the plot of the story for the two main characters in the movie whom fell madly in love with each other.
In the movie, Eleanor Young — Mother of Nick young, the wealthy bachelor — said to the bachelorette Rachel Chu,
“You’re a foreigner. American — and all Americans think about is their own happiness.”
This quote really resonated with me because it made think about my own family. It made me think of my own American-ism…