Once a struggling Chinese student, Anthony Wu later found his identity through the language—as both American and Chinese American, linked to generations of family.
Now a UCLA sophomore, the Irvine Chinese School alumnus returned to share his 11-year journey, including times he found Chinese difficult, boring, and wanted to quit.
Classroom Doubts Family Calls
Anthony Wu joked that the best part of Chinese school was not class, but the 10-minute break to play ping-pong, badminton, and handball with friends.
At the time, he found Chinese boring and felt he had learned almost nothing.
By ninth grade, he began to realize Chinese might matter. Weekly calls with his grandmother often left him frustrated because he could barely understand her.
He came to see that giving up Chinese could mean losing more than a language—it could weaken his connection to family, memory, and culture.
That understanding deepened at UCLA, where he met a friend from Hong Kong and many Chinese American classmates.
Growing up in San Clemente with few Asian peers, he had often felt out of place.
Campus Roots Identity Found
In college, Anthony Wu realized he was not just an American who looked Chinese, but a Chinese American shaped by both cultures.
Chinese helped him understand who he was and connect with generations of family.
He began to wonder whether the language would end with him. That fear turned Chinese from a weekend class into an essential part of his identity.
Eleven Years One Stayed
Wu studied Chinese from first through eleventh grade. By graduation, none of his original classmates remained; he alone completed the journey.
He learned that studying Chinese in America takes persistence. Without daily exposure, stopping means falling behind.
He also came to appreciate the sacrifices of parents and teachers, who work hard to help students stay connected to family and pass the language on.
Anthony Wu strengthened his spoken Chinese through writing
Everyday Chinese Homeward Heart
Wu urged younger students to bring Chinese beyond the classroom through videos, dramas, music, and social media. When Chinese becomes part of daily life, it gains real meaning.
Today, he can understand his grandmother’s stories, read her childhood diary, and finally grasp the Jay Chou songs his mother played on drives to Chinese school.
What once felt like mere sound now carries words, emotion, and memory.
For Anthony Wu, Chinese is more than a language—it is a path to family, culture, and identity.