College+Essay

The fragrance of garlic and Szechuan peppercorn filled the spacious restaurant as my eyes gazed at the large red cloth embroidered with golden Chinese characters hanging from the off-white colored walls. As the dim sum carts pass by periodically, the rising steam from the variety of foods evaporates as the name of each item is shouted from table to table. The small white plates with porcelain teacups in the middle rest neatly in front of each mahogany wood chair as the ivory colored tablecloth drapes onto my lap. Even today while sitting in a different Chinese restaurant, the familiar aromas and the same incomprehensible language recapture my first dim sum experience – a meal of great importance to my development as a young woman. Every Sunday since the age of 8, my family and I would make the long drive from the south bay of area of California all the way into Chinatown in Los Angeles to eat at our favorite Chinese dim sum restaurant. A favorite of my dad’s growing up, he wanted to share his culinary experiences with his children. Ever since, as busy as my brother and I kept my parents, they managed to drag us out of bed every Sunday at 10 am to make sure we sat together for one meal as a family. While meals together were a rarity, brunch at Empress Pavilion was never missed. What sounds like just a simple Chinese meal of fried rice and fortune cookies, it was a major contribution to my cultural diversity as I am not at all Chinese. Being of mixed ancestry (my father is Caucasian and my mother Japanese), I have grown up with a great appreciation for diversity. Born and raised in Southern California until the age of 11, we moved to Hawaii when I was 12. In Hawaii I found out that I was referred to in Hawaiian as “hapa,” which roughly translates to “of mixed ancestry.” Growing up in two states consisting of a kaleidoscope of ethnicities, I learned to value the history, language, and most greatly, the culinary contributions from across the world. While settling into a new environment we found it hard to meet for Sunday brunches. However, we fixed this by going to my mother’s favorite Chinese restaurant. Our Sunday dim sum tradition gives us the opportunity to appreciate our family and a culture other our own. As the metal carts pass by in the small ten-tabled restaurant, I still envision the steam dancing through the vast room and smell of the garlic and Szechuan peppercorn awakening my senses. While our tradition has grown, my opportunities have as well. I see myself using the four years of college as a time to seek further diversified experiences. I view my college experience as not only a time to expand my educational horizon, but also as a time to meet new friends and gain new experiences all the while absorbing everything around me.