Image: UGA Cellular Biology and Psychology double major Tarkshika Sudan has been published in The Classic, the Writing Intensive Program’s journal of undergraduate writing and research. Sudan's essay, “In the Space Between: Navigating Second-Generation Asian American Identity,” appears in the December issue (14.1). Through autoethnographic reflection, the essay explores the complex cultural identity and lived experiences of second-generation Asian Americans, examining what it means to exist in the space between cultures. When people think of the American Dream, they often imagine a straightforward story of upward mobility, where immigrant families find opportunity and success in the United States. Yet for many second-generation Asian Americans—the children of immigrants born and raised in this country—the story is far more complicated. While their parents often navigate explicit exclusion as outsiders, second-generation individuals grow up between two cultural worlds, never fully belonging to either. ... Although I was raised in a diverse community, I internalized a sense of cultural shame in my early years. I brought sandwiches to school instead of Indian food, not because I liked them better, but because I feared the reaction. I avoided wearing Indian clothes, and I judged my peers who embraced their heritage openly. I remember watching teachers converse casually with White students while I stood silently nearby, unsure if I belonged. However, as I grew older, I began to reclaim the very things I once tried to erase. I now proudly wear Indian clothes, sing Carnatic music, and eat Indian food without feeling ashamed. More importantly, I have found belonging among others who live in this in-between space—people who understand what it means to feel too American in ethnic spaces and too ethnic in American ones. Our shared experience does not erase the tension, but it transforms it into a connection. Continue reading Tarkshika Sudan's thought-provoking exploration of identity, featured in The Classic Journal's fall issue. Image: This essay argues that the second-generation experience is defined not by choosing a cultural side, but by learning to inhabit and honor the space in between. (The Classic Journal, Issue 14.1).
