{"id":68,"date":"2025-08-17T14:44:32","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T13:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/mengmeng-zhang\/?p=68"},"modified":"2025-08-18T02:51:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T01:51:11","slug":"roots-and-belonging-growing-up-between-cultures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/mengmeng-zhang\/2025\/08\/17\/roots-and-belonging-growing-up-between-cultures\/","title":{"rendered":"Roots and Belonging: Growing Up Between Cultures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Mengmeng Zhang<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does it mean to grow up between different cultures? For many second-generation immigrants in Newcastle, the answer is complex. The pull of family traditions, the pressures of school life, and the reality of living in a city with a culture in continual transition have shaped their sense of self.
Newcastle has long been a city shaped by the movement of people, industrial workers, seafarers, students and, more recently, communities from across the world. In this energetic land, second-generation immigrants carry unique stories of belonging and difference. For Michelle, Sophie, and Ryan, their identities were shaped at the crossroads of cultures, where family roots and local life often clash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI felt different since I was little.\u201d \u2013 Michelle<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

For Michelle Liu<\/strong>, who moved to the UK from China at the age of six, she was isolated when she first entered school.” All my classmates were white and I was the only one who was Chinese. I felt different because I was very young,” she recalls.
The lack of English made things more difficult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI used to get bullied a lot\u2026 I didn\u2019t understand them, but I knew they were being mean.\u201d <\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

These early experiences gave her insight into what makes her different.
However, holidays like Chinese New Year give her something to lean on. Surrounded by family, food and friends, Michelle felt her difference fade away. \u201cAt that time, I didn’t feel different,\u201d she says. Celebrations made her feel both proud and connected to her traditions, even if school life told her otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Michelle Liu (credit: Mengmeng Zhang)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The journey back to China was complicated. \u201cBecause I grew up in England, I felt a little more distant from China,\u201d Michelle reflects. Although she reconnected with relatives, the pace of life there felt alien to her. Her experience captures the double-edged nature of second-generation identity: connected to and shaped by another homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Michielle just finished her undergraduate degree this past June (credit: Michelle Liu)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI was the odd sheep out.\u201d \u2013 Sophie<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Sophie Kelly was born in Newcastle , her mother is Chinese and her father is British. At home, traditions collide and mesh.” When I have dinner with my British boyfriend, the atmosphere is relaxed and informal. But with my Chinese family, there’s a lot of respect, and the little things like sharing food and using chopsticks properly mean a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At school, however, she’s too different to ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI couldn\u2019t even bring Chinese food to school. I was the odd sheep out.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

That was pretty tough, Bullying with racial stereotypes forced her to hide a part of herself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese gave her a break.” It’s very cozy here. Everyone was welcoming and I could eat whatever I wanted,” Sophie recalls. The contrast made her more acutely aware of the biases that were everywhere in Britain, but it also highlighted the strength of her heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Sophie Kelly (credit: Mengmeng Zhang)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Festivals became places of negotiation. Chinese New Year brought a sense of proudness, especially when celebrated openly by the Chinese community in Newcastle. However, Christmas exposed differences.” We don’t have a Christmas tree and sometimes we don’t even have a roast dinner. My friends have Boxing Day and presents, whereas I often spend Christmas alone because both my parents have to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these differences, Sophie sees progress today.” There is more equality now. There is less bullying at school. My younger relatives are doing better.” Her voice is both a reminder of the struggles of the past and the progress that has been made in Newcastle.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Sophie now works part-time at her mom’s nail salon (credit: Mengmeng Zhang)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI felt in-between at university.\u201d \u2013 Ryan<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Ryan Rong came to the UK as a baby, and for most of his childhood, his Chinese identity was primarily expressed through his family life. “At home, we spoke Cantonese, so I preserved that culture. But at school, most of my friends were British,” he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came the challenge. “At university, I felt stuck in the middle. There were a lot of Chinese students at school, but I had no contact with them. I couldn’t speak Mandarin, and there were very few Chinese in my courses. So I felt very alienated.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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Ryan intends to apply to Newcastle University’s Masters programme after his undergraduate graduation (credit: Ryan Rong)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For Ryan, a sense of belonging is not determined by appearance, but by language. Without Mandarin, it would be difficult for him to reach out to the wider Chinese community. However, the Cantonese spoken at home still reminds him of his roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This balance makes me realize how different life is for the second generation-you’re always partly inside and partly outside.”<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese school on Sundays provides a rare space for connection. “I attended school there for about five years. It was the only place where I felt understood,” Ryan says. This weekly experience highlights how community spaces can sustain identity in ways that mainstream schools rarely do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common Anchor<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Though Michelle, Sophie and Ryan’s experiences are different, they have a remarkable convergence. All three describe the loneliness of early school life. All three found solace in cultural traditions such as holidays, food, or language that reminded them of who they were. All three emphasize the constant negotiation of identity, neither exclusively Chinese nor exclusively British.
Their stories also reflect Newcastle itself: a city that is increasingly diverse but still asks newcomers to overcome difficult barriers. For the second generation, belonging is not about choosing one identity, but about embedding both into everyday life.
As Sophie says “You can see the huge differences \u2026\u2026 but I’ve learned to value both sides of myself.<\/strong>“<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disclaimer<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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