kim panel

"Kim" is a female, who was born in South Korea in 1976. She was abandoned by her parents, who she believes were too poor to keep her. During the 1970s, the "silent war" in Korea caused a lot of poverty.

"Kim" was put in a helicopter, which went to Alaska. She was then adopted by a Caucasian couple in Oklahoma. She grew up in Oklahoma. Her father worked in a coal mine and her mother was a seamstress. However, they did not have enough money. "Kim" got her first job, working in her middle school cafeteria, in 6th grade.

She enjoyed reading the encylopedia because she was bored and she wanted to, "learn and study as much as possible."She earned a 3.8 G.P.A. in high school, but she couldn't get financial aid for college. She worked several, "random jobs," such as baby-sitting, tutoring, and in a Chinese Express. "Kim's" adoptive parents didn't support her desire of going to college, but they also never blocked her from it. She worked her random jobs to earn a paycheck and pay her way through school. An English teacher named Sherry Baker, was a great motivor for "Kim." She is now in a Ph.D program in U.S.C, where she is majoring in literature, creative writing, and poetry.

But as was growing up, she experienced several prejudices. People asked her ridiculous questions like, "What are you" and "Where do you really come from?"

She says that she would have preferred, "Where were you born?" because it is more considerate. She was also called a "China doll," she isn't from China, but from Korea. Growing up, she also heard a lot about the Asian, "model minority." It was the assumption that every Asian person was brilliant and wealthy.

Concerning today's immigration laws, she believes that it is wrong of the U.S. to make it difficult for foreign students who want to attend college.

She believes that anyone can become President because this is a "land of immigrants."
She sees herself as a "Citizen of the world," and she feels that "home is something you create.. where you feel love."