Gen Z Views America: A LEGO Big Toy Built by Multiculturalism

Born and raised in the U.S., Gen Z-er Wendy explores American multiculturalism in this program. By sharing her own upbringing in her hometown of Tampa, and interviewing her Cuban-American designer friend Enrique and a surgeon named Chloe with a diverse background, she examines how multiculturalism shapes an inclusive social mindset and diverse identity.

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I want to eat Korean food, but I also love the place outside with the chicken. Or maybe I should eat the Thai food my sister loves. But the watercress tastes pretty good too. It's also been a long time since I've had Vietnamese food. But what about the tacos from this place? Think about it: in many countries, what to have for dinner isn't even a question, but in the U.S., just deciding on a dinner means you are dealing with many different civilizations. This is General Tso's chicken, a Chinese dish that many people love, but my Chinese friends tell me this isn't real Chinese food at all. Hello everyone, welcome to "Wendy Looks at America," I'm Wendy, a Gen Z-er born and raised in the U.S., and today we're talking about American multiculturalism.

When I was in school, books always liked to describe the United States as a melting pot or a salad bowl, but I always felt these metaphors were a bit boring. My younger sister loves playing with LEGOs, and one day, watching her immersed in the world of LEGOs, I suddenly realized that the United States is actually more like a big box of LEGOs without an instruction manual. People from all over the world, bringing their own unique colors, edges, and stories, do not break apart to become identical pieces. In the process of piecing ourselves together and colliding with one another, we unknowingly built a new world that was quite cool, even beyond our own expectations. I grew up among many different cultures and traditions. My hometown, Tampa, Florida, is actually a city deeply influenced by Cuban culture. If you have ever been to the historic district of Ybor City, you would understand what I am talking about. Walking on those century-old red brick roads, the air is filled with the aroma of Cuban coffee, and the ears are full of Spanish and old Cuban music. From Cuban sandwiches and cigar shops to the architecture and music on the streets, that is the foundation left behind by generations of immigrants who lived here. The person who introduced me to Ybor City was my childhood friend Enrique. We come from two completely different cultures, but I feel they have worked together. Enrique is the first generation of his family born in the United States; his parents were Cuban refugees who risked their lives to cross the ocean to escape.

Enrique is now an interior designer, and his daily work involves piecing together elements of different styles. This is a painting that serves as Cuban art, and this is also art from my sister. Like Enrique, many of my friends come from different cultural backgrounds. This is Chloe; she is now a surgeon, and her parents came to the United States thinking they wanted a life they liked. My father is from Shandong, and my mother is from Sichuan; they met in Shanghai, so I was born in Shanghai. Then, when I was nine, I went to Australia, and at eleven, I moved to the United States, so at eleven. Growing up with friends from different cultures has had the greatest impact on me, perhaps by making it easier for me to understand others. When you are exposed to different values and different lifestyles from a young age, you will slowly discover that this world is not as simple as we make it out to be. Often, it is just that everyone has a different background and looks at the world from a different perspective. That is the best part of the American experience. From a very young age, you interact with different societies, what people do, why people do things, and gradually, this also happens in many different societies, but I think it is very serious, I think it is very serious.

I consider myself very fortunate to have grown up in such a culturally diverse country, and I increasingly feel that a person's identity does not have to be defined by just a single label. What kind of person I would call myself today, and what kind of person I am called, largely come from the people I have met, the cultures I have experienced, and those moments that felt unfamiliar yet very fresh. America is 259 years old. Over these 250-odd years, this land has continuously welcomed people from different places, speaking different languages, and holding different faiths. They share no common ancestors; perhaps they have guarded against one another, facing conflicts and arguments, but ultimately they chose to stay. At the end of the day, America has never been defined by a single identity; its strength precisely stems from its ability to accommodate numerous different ethnic groups and diverse identities. Nurike, Chloe, and I are all part of this uncompleted Lego creation. We come from different backgrounds, yet each of us retains our own distinct colors, and we are all still striving to fit our own piece into this cool, big Lego toy called America.