Stay

She keeps singing the same songs,
Her heart's been caged up for so long.
He keeps coming around,
and she loves the way he laughs and looks at the clouds.

Why are you scared?
You made your bed right there.
So stay, won't you stay as long as you can?

Smoke is rising up ahead,
but they keep walking hand in hand.


Why are you scared?
You made your bed right there.
So stay, won't you stay as long as you can?

As long as you can,
as long as you can,
as long as you can,
so stay, won't you stay as long as you can.

<3
C

Pass it on

I was visiting a lovely family.

We were sitting at their dinner table together.

At the dinner table were 4 different generations of culture. 

3rd generation Japanese

4th generation Japanese

5th generation Japenese 

then there was me, 2nd generation Vietnamese. 

It was the most interesting and eye opening experience for me. I was always worried that for some reason my children would be a watered down version of myself in terms of cultural ties. One of the main questions I asked myself in college was how will I raise my kid as a Vietnamese American? How do I maintain the culture? What if I don't do it well? What exactly do I have to teach/show them for them to be truly Vietnamese? I don't want them to be just American kids! I was truly vexed by these questions!

As we were at the dinner table together with this family of many generations passed down, I started to realize there was a type of culture that has been maintained and developed over the course of generations. Granted it does look a bit different from the first generation culture but it's still very unique and lovely in itself. My professor once told me, "Love everything for what it is and what it isn't". Everything has something lovely in it...2nd, 3rd, 4th generation cultures. They bear unique marks. For example, for me and my future children, we will bear unique marks of our culture. The best I can do is take what I value from my upbringing/cultures and pass it on. 

<3

C