"Imagine being almost five years old. You've just started kindergarten in the U.S., maybe six weeks in, and you're still learning English. One late October morning, you walk into your classroom and see a boy in a black suit with white face paint and red fangs. The room is a swirl of orange and black, filled with ghosts, pumpkins, and what you'd later learn is Dracula. But at that moment, you have no idea what's going on."
"I used to yearn for those Hallmark moments I saw on TV, the fireplace adorned with stockings and overflowing with gifts, a long table filled with family, and a golden turkey at the center. But in our immigrant household, American holidays looked different. We waited for the post-New Year's sales to buy new clothes. We ate a quiet meal of KFC with rice for three on Thanksgiving,"
An immigrant childhood shaped different holiday experiences marked by scarcity and adaptation. The family substituted typical American traditions with pragmatic choices: waiting for post–New Year sales, eating KFC with rice for Thanksgiving, and quiet celebrations because a parent worked two jobs. A kindergarten Halloween became a formative moment of exclusion when a child who did not understand the holiday was denied a snack for not wearing a costume. The moment produced confusion, embarrassment, and anger and crystallized a lasting desire to belong and prove worth. Early emotional memories influenced ongoing attempts to fit in and seek acceptance.
Read at Psychology Today
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