We discussed how it felt to be firs

We discussed how it felt to be first-generation college students growing up with American ideologies, sharing cultural values and interests. When I asked what he was majoring in, he said that he was going into medicine, mostly because it is what his parents wanted. He also said that he was taking a class in visual arts and that his true passion was drawing. When I asked him why he was not majoring in art, he responded, “Because my parents would disown me if I told them I wanted to major in drawing cartoons.” He went on to say that he felt like he was not able to connect with anyone on this campus and he contemplated transferring to a school that would suit him better. I got the impression that it was not until our conversation that he felt comfortable talking about his feelings about his experiences at UVM. As we parted ways, I started to think about when I was a first-year undergraduate and how therapeutic it was for me to vent to someone who understood my frustrations and anxieties as an Asian American.