As a second-generation immigrant, you are constantly torn between honoring your family history and accepting the modern culture in which you found yourself. You may have been conditioned to behave a certain way around your relatives but a very different way around your friends. Something that is generally accepted where you currently live may be met with disapproval in your parents’ hometown. You may have felt bad about enjoying a facet of the new culture that was not accepted by the old. For example, the more collectivist and family-oriented values of your immigrant parents may clash with the American value of personal freedom and autonomy.
