America is a melting pot

Living in the United States for almost two years, I feel America is special. I have adopted several "American" things, such as drinking sweet tea, wearing cowboy boots, and eating pinto beans and corn bread. People tease me by saying that I am becoming a Southern American girl. However, the thing that I found the most fascinating is Americans’ ancestry.

This may sound simple, but when I was little, I always thought Americans were originally from America, just like Chinese are originally from China. I didn’t know I was wrong until my dad told me because of the history, Americans’ forefathers were from all over the world.

When I first came to the United States, I asked my host parents about where their forefathers were from. I am interested in genealogy and I had heard that all Americans are "mixed." My host dad told me his forefathers were from Germany and Scotland, while my host mom told me hers could trace back to Ireland and Native American.

I always knew my ancestors were from China, living on that land for more than 5,000 years. People here call me "China Doll." Yes, I am technically!

A friend, Victoria VanBeverhoudt, once wrote a poem, basically saying "America is one tribe from thousands of tribes." Yes, it is. I have friends who have ancestors from lots of different races. My humorous math teacher is African American. My wonderful friends from our church youth group are Hispanic; and my handsome prom date is part Pilipino. We joke that because we both love rice, then we must be distant cousins.

I am so thankful to get to go to a school which has a fabulous variety of students and teachers. We get along well and I feel like our friendships will last forever. I learn some precious personality traits from them; bravery, cheerfulness, kindness and humor. They make me feel blessed. Also, my church embraces all people. Every Sunday morning during greet time, we hug and greet each other, there is no difference between us.

We, as human beings, are social by nature. Living in a society, we get along with people every day, and we should embrace our differences. God has given all races their own talents and endowments. Such amazing diversity has made this country not only colorful, but also great. I am so blessed to come here feeling such a variety, and make different friends.