The Memories

By Kim Sok

I remember at a young age the memories I had living in Long Beach, California. The Cambodian community was so strong, and it still is till this day. I felt a sense of belonging when I was there compared to growing up in Lawrence and having to move across the country. I have lived in Lawrence for 14 years now. A part of me wished I had a strong connection to my Khmer community in Lowell as I grew older, but due to only just visiting the city from time to time, I was never able to build that connection.

Living in Lawrence taught me how to appreciate diversity and I was able to be open minded about different foods, culture and backgrounds. Although it had its difficult times when I was the only minority in the classroom, I was grateful and lucky to have met and be friends with great people. It definitely was a hard adjustment having to transition; being 5 and extremely shy wasn’t the best way for a new start. A lot of my friends were never Asian, so they weren’t able to relate to me in school 

Once I entered high school, I joined the Upward Bound program. Every student there were all Hispanics, and I remember having such a difficult time being the only one that was a minority. But as the months passed I learned to accept myself as well as accepting the fact that this is who I am, and I can’t change the fact that I am the only Asian in an all Hispanic community.

As I grew older, I became more comfortable with the word minority, I learned to love my culture, and I was able to love myself through the acceptance of being a minority. Although I was not able to grow up with my family back in California, I now try to have a connection with my culture and visiting them in California every summer is definitely helping as well.

I hope with time, and the more I grow I continue to learn more about the history of Cambodia, as well as the language, food and culture. Cambodia is and will always be a part of me, and I identify as a proud Cambodian.

            Even being a student in University of Massachusetts Lowell, I am able to connect with other fellow Asians and learn more through them. I definitely would love to have a career that involves helping within the Khmer community. I want to be able to be a voice for those who are not able to speak their own. With the experience and knowledge that my school is giving me, I hope I can later apply it to my own career and make my community happy with everything that I am doing for them and their happiness.

            It’s especially great to be a part of a campus community where I am becoming much closer to my professors who are there for me, helping, guiding and mentoring me through y hardships and as well as through discovery who I am and finding myself through my career path. I remember speaking to one of my professors, and I was explaining to her my difficulty in trying to connect to my Khmer community, and she immediately told me to talk to the perfect person to go to for what I needed. Although it was such a small act that she did, it was extremely meaningful for me, because that was exactly what I have been looking for.

The sense of belonging and a form of unity within my own culture and community has been so close in arms reach but yet so far to grab. But I’ve learned so much from being at UML, and knowing that I have a strong relationship with my professors, only assures me that I will only continue to thrive from here on out. My goal to be a voice for my Khmer community will slowly but surely be accomplished, with more time and more experience here at UML.

I am extremely grateful and lucky to have chosen this school, and to have made friend here at UML that I would never have met elsewhere. It’s been a great experience here thus far, and I hope to only experience and see even more great people here.