Childhood Memories and Questions

​Both of these images are class assignments in where I describe my weekend.  The first image is a journal entry that I wrote when I was seven years old. If you ignore my bad grammar and illogical flow of thought, you can see that I was beaming with excitement about the Lunar New Year celebrations in Chinatown. The second image is a drawing that I drew as a five year old for my class. Chinatown has grown to be a place that has allowed me to connect with and learn more about my cultural heritage.  However, Chinatown has also grown to a place where I slowly started to realize the stark inequalities of the city.  In this 7 by 7 mile city, the socioeconomic differences between each neighborhood are even more greatly emphasized.  I wanted to understand why the Financial District was glamorous and well kept, but there are decrepitated SROs literally across the street.  These weekend trips to Chinatown have not only helped me built my cultural identity-- but have helped me develop important question that have guided my curiosity. I hope that anybody that visits Chinatown not only experience its cultural richness but are stimulated to ask such similar questions.

Anna Chow