Guilford sophomore Mandy Lu is a mini-celebrity around campus and the nation since her appearance on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” On the show, she discussed her constant battle with her identity as Chinese-American after revisiting China for the first time in two years.
Lu, a psychology and chemistry double major, lived in Beijing with her family until she turned 15, when she moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., to live with an American host family.
“It’s hard enough being a transfer student; it’s that much harder when you don’t speak the language or know the culture at all,” said Lu.
Lu’s host sister, Andrea, is a producer for NPR’s “All Things Considered.” After hearing the proposed idea of a documentary series called “Hidden World of Girls,” Andrea immediately thought of Lu.
“I have talked to (Andrea) about how I struggle with this idea if I’m more American or Chinese,” said Lu. “While China is where my root is, I’m more used to life in the US.”
After discussing the project with her host sister, Lu deemed it a great opportunity to learn more about herself culturally. A couple of weeks later, Lu got a tape recorder and boarded a plane for Beijing where she collected sounds that would later be used on NPR. Lu recalls an evening when she and her parents were watching a television show about cross-dressers.
“My dad used a very derogatory term that basically meant, ‘that’s weird’ and I thought, ‘there’s nothing to it. That’s just a way of life,’ but I didn’t want to argue with him because I knew he just wouldn’t understand,” said Lu.
When she returned to the US, Lu went to Washington, D.C., to record for “All Things Considered.” Reflecting on the whole experience, she described it as “empowering.”
On NPR’s website, there are several comments from listeners who shared their own stories of identity conflict and compared their emotions to those of Lu.
“I felt like I was alone with this, but hearing all that feedback made me realize that I’m not, and that my reflection evoked emotional responses,” Lu said. “It’s a very empowering feeling.”
Donna Mu, a Chinese-American senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, related to Lu’s story.
Mu, who grew up in Beijing, explained how there is often conflict between American and Chinese cultures.
“My parents are traditional and I’m very Americanized,” Mu said. “When I visit China it’s extremely different from my experiences in America. It’s difficult; in America, there’s a lot more freedom.”
In an e-mail correspondence between Lu and her host sister, Andrea praised Lu’s story as well.
“You really succeeded in creating a piece that makes people think, which is nice,” said Andrea. “(It’s) not just something that people say, ‘oh that was nice.'”
Being on NPR has influenced Lu to be more outspoken, both aloud and on paper.
“It encouraged me to pursue writing even more because it made me feel like I do have a voice and all I have to do is get it out,” said Lu. “If it’s not spoken, it will be in writing.”
Lu is currently taking a reflection and journalism course at Guilford in efforts to follow this aspiration.