"Laotian Daughters"

Bindi Shah's observation of the daily lives of first generation Laotian Americans is eye-opening to their daily struggle between tradition and their new beliefs. Shah highlights the way that Laotians identity themselves when asked what they see themselves as, most replying with their ethnic identity. Although they want to identity themselves as traditional, the Laotian Americans are also influenced by their Western environment, a conflicting belief system that works against their ethnic traditional values. By distancing themselves away from the bad parts of their traditions that conflict with their traditional beliefs, they are creating a new identity for their generation, a new kind of Laotian with influences of traditional and Western values implanted into their brains. I can relate to this struggle between traditional and Western values as a first generation Asian American. Picking out specific traditions that I prefer in order to fit it into my Western state of mind is something that I have done in the past and even now, I have to choose between my traditions and conforming to American society.