In the Ted talk "What's Missing from the American Immigrant Narrative,” Elizabeth describes her struggles as a 15 year old whose parents got deported to Mexico, she talks about how immigrants have expectations to either be minimum wage workers or the most successful “American Dream” stereotype, which ignores the real financial and mental struggles. She notes that “There is a cost to living the American dream” (Camarillo Gutierrez). A quote that relates to the american dream assumption from the book Behold the Dreamers “Cameroon we're happy and successful, well educated and respectful, and she'd come to believe that if they could flourish in America surely she could too.” (Mbue 312) Those quotes together show that the American Dream isn't always perfect and that immigrants see the top 1% of people who become crazy successful and that there is always a different side to the story.

Where in your story has someone had an assumption about how things should work out for them and been wrong? How did that impact their ability to succeed?

“Sweet Difficult Sounds”  Nothukula is a girl who moved from Zimbabwe to America. She can speak English but feels nervous to talk because of her accent, she becomes very self conscious and afraid of being judged during class she has to read a poem to the class but forgets the words.

They are connected because they both deal with feeling like they don't fit in at school. “My tongue feels heavy in my mouth when I try to say the words,”. This quote shows her feeling unable to talk in fear of being judged. “I’m the permanent bachelor, he wrote in a letter to his sister-”. This quote is from my book, it shows Oscar feeling like he’ll never find love because of being himself.

Where in your story has a character felt like they didn’t fit in? How did they handle it? How did they impact the end of the story?

In the ted talk How Using Perspective Transformed my World it's about how something changed a man's perspective. The man was a doctor and didn't know how to save a dying baby and when he had to let the family know he noticed his own pastor was there as their pastor. This changed his perspective because he didn't realize these people were this close in his community. It made him realize you never know what people are going through no matter how close they are to you. “He taught me that using perspective to shape our understanding rather than relying on perception, we can change not just our lives but the lives around us.” This ted talk relates to my book because their auntie dies which changes their perspective on life. They have to learn how to live without her and how to cope with her loss. “But she doesn't see me anymore" (Tahir)

Is there something that happened in your book that changed your main character's perspective in life?

Similarly, in “Don’t feel sorry for refugees—believe in them” by Luma Mufleh, tells us, “We have seen advances in every aspect of our lives—except our humanity.” (Mufleh). As a refugee, the grandchild of a refugees, and someone who runs community programs for refugees, Mufleh is disgusted with the treatment the United States, and the world, have toward how they treat people who have been forced out of their homes. In one circumstance, a boy is jumped while playing outside of his apartment, waiting for her, and is badly injured, strictly because he was an immigrant. His family had been lucky enough to be in the .1% who get to resettle in the United States after escaping the Taliban in Pakistan. What she notes is, despite all of the targeting and ignorance she sees with refugees, she also sees the good, “Their journeys are haunting. But what I get to see every day is hope, resilience, determination, a love of life and appreciation for being able to rebuild their lives.” (Mufleh). 

To be continued to be treated this way, despite all of the accomplishment and innocence of a young adult trying to do their best, it really speaks to the culture that Americans have toward immigrants, especially refugees. 

Based on what you’ve seen in your own book, and the other Ted Talks, what is missing from the American mindset and culture to create a better environment for people coming into our country? What needs to change for these people to experience more success and acceptance?

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao focuses on Oscar de Leon, a very nerdy and overweight Dominican boy who struggles to find a girlfriend and loves writing and novels. When he finally falls in love after being alone for so long after he moves to the Dominican Republic. And the boyfriend of the girl that he is in love with “captain” who ends up having Oscar killed in a field because he wouldn't stop seeing her.

When Oscar moves to the Dominican, it’s really different, a lot rougher than he was expecting,”Broken nose, shattered zygomatic arch, crushed seventh cranial nerve, three of his teeth snapped off at the gum, concussion, but hes still alive, isn't he?"(Diaz 301) Luma had to move from Jordan to the US because of her sexuality and also had a rough transition. And things aren’t always better when immigrating, “The vast majority remain in refugee camps, whose conditions cannot be defined as humane under anyone's definition.”(Mufleh)

Where in your story does someone experience something different than they were expecting? How does that get resolved by the end? Does the character end up better off or not?

Where in your story are characters struggling with the expectations of people around them? Where do they end up?

Similarly, in “Don’t feel sorry for refugees—believe in them” by Luma Mufleh, tells us, “We have seen advances in every aspect of our lives—except our humanity.” (Mufleh). As a refugee, the grandchild of a refugees, and someone who runs community programs for refugees, Mufleh is disgusted with the treatment the United States, and the world, have toward how they treat people who have been forced out of their homes. In one circumstance, a boy is jumped while playing outside of his apartment, waiting for her, and is badly injured, strictly because he was an immigrant. His family had been lucky enough to be in the .1% who get to resettle in the United States after escaping the Taliban in Pakistan. What she notes is, despite all of the targeting and ignorance she sees with refugees, she also sees the good, “Their journeys are haunting. But what I get to see every day is hope, resilience, determination, a love of life and appreciation for being able to rebuild their lives.” (Mufleh). 

To be continued to be treated this way, despite all of the accomplishment and innocence of a young adult trying to do their best, it really speaks to the culture that Americans have toward immigrants, especially refugees. 

Based on what you’ve seen in your own book, and the other Ted Talks, what is missing from the American mindset and culture to create a better environment for people coming into our country? What needs to change for these people to experience more success and acceptance?

In the book, Throwback by Maurene Goo, Samantha, or as she’s called through the book, Sam, is the daughter of a first-generation Korean immigrant, Priscilla, with whom she has a… troubled relationship to say the least. After a fight with her mom that leaves her stranded in the mall parking lot over her not trying for homecoming queen, she orders a ride share service called Throwback Rides, after a talk about what happened with her mom with the driver, Samantha is thrown back to when her mom was in the running for Homecoming Queen, and now has to help her mom achieve said title to get back to her place in time and make amends with her mother, who she discovers tries/tried to hide the fact she’s from Korea to be popular. Over this time, Sam realizes why her mom is like how she is in the modern day: because of her mom.

In both the book Throwback  by Maurene Goo and the story From Scratch by Susie Castellano, a main character either tries to hide that they’re not exactly from America, or deal with someone doing the same thing. In From Scratch, Priya tries to hide that she’s from India by first hiding her indian dishes her mom makes her for lunch behind her paper bag, then gets peanut butter sandwiches from the grocery store, then when she gets bored of those, she gets vegan options from the cafeteria, while in Throwback, Sam has to deal with Priscilla who does a similar thing, pretending she isn’t from the US of A by acting as part of the popular crowd, into which she made it in. While the motive for Priya is undefined, Priscilla does it for both to sort of fight against the general prejudice, and because she perceives it as the only way to achieve the “American dream”.

Does your character try to hide the fact that they aren’t from America? If so, why?

What events caused your character to become an immigrant? Were they forced to leave, and were there any attempts to help their position before they left their country?

Both The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Luma’s story from her TED Talk show how people try to take control of their lives despite powerful outside forces. Oscar struggles against cultural expectations and the fukú curse, while Luma faces displacement and danger as a refugee. Even though their situations are very different, both highlight how identity, culture, and circumstances can limit their ability to live a good life. Oscar keeps pursuing love, and Luma builds opportunities for others through soccer and education.

Does your character struggle with relationships or go into a state of depression?