The Wong Name

                                        ("Wong Ranch." Futurama Wiki. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.)


1)
The last name, Wong, is deeply rooted in Chinese history. The original stylization, 黄,was translated into English as Hwang, Huang, and Wong. In Chinese, the word means "yellow" and is the eighth most common surname in China. It's traditionally passed down orally through generations that this last name comes from the legendary Yellow Emperor of the Han dynasty long ago.

 To me, my name is a connection to my roots. Since I'm mixed, it's hard to claim to be part of a culture when I often hear that I "should only pick one race" to identify with. So by bearing the same name my grandfather did as he emigrated from Guangdong to San Francisco for a better life, I can feel like I'm part of something instead of without a culture completely. Although my last name doesn't define me (because there's more to someone than a label), it reminds me of my family history and is something I'm proud of.

 Having an obviously foreign last name throughout life has had its advantages and disadvantages. It's an easy way to prove my ethnicity and I can claim minority status on forms. More importantly, Wong is a fantastic name for puns ("you've called the Wong number," etc.)
However, some people make assumptions about me based on my last name, which affects the way they perceive me. Plus, I'm usually at the end of all lines since Wong starts with a W. That sucks.

Traditionally in society, women take the last name of the man they marry. Lately, however, it's become more acceptable for a woman to keep her surname or hyphenate it with her husband's name. I believe that it's a woman's choice and if she chooses to keep her last name instead of taking a man's , more power to her. After all, the practice seems old fashioned and patriarchal in nature. But I think that it's become so deeply rooted in our culture that it's less of a control thing and more of a tradition.

2)

 I can relate to Anna Quindlen and her statement about having "two me's." In my case, I live with my mom during the week and my dad on the weekends. When this arrangement first began, my mom had a more relaxed parenting approach while my dad was more strict. During the week, I did my own thing and on the weekends I was more limited. My dad expected me to spend the entire weekend with him without going to see friends or inviting anyone over. He wanted me to get to bed by 8 every night. Among other things, he wanted me to conduct myself in a way that clashed with my personality. I adhered to his rules for a while and tried to change myself to fit all of his standards. Eventually, it became too much of a struggle to switch between how I lived at my mom's house and how I lived at my dad's. Even though I wanted to be who he wanted me to be, it was more important to be myself. After talking it over, we both agreed on a solution. Looking back on it, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but it was necessary to eliminate the second and untrue "me."