【华e生活青少年记者王宣宣报道】在美国政坛，很少有故事能像台湾移民之子杨安泽(Andrew Yang)的故事那样鼓舞人心。杨安泽打破常规，成为全国知名人物和总统候选人。
他从一个内向、“愤怒”的少年变成了一个杰出的人物，这为亚裔看待失败的视角提供了宝贵的见解。在一个典型的亚裔家庭中，成功往往与学业成就联系在一起，杨的经历强调了接受失败对个人和职业成长的重要性。
在2024年2月20日举行的MOVENC青年领导力研讨会上，杨通过采访和参与活动，与主持人Eric Ye, Katie Shen, 和Maggie Su分享了这些见解，为探索未知的道路提供了独特的视角。
杨安泽(Andrew Yang)的早年经历了一个典型亚洲家庭所熟悉的压力，期望在学业上取得优异成绩，找到一份稳定的工作。安德鲁形容自己是一个骨瘦如柴的书呆子，“他回忆说，在三年级的时候，当他要在全班面前做报告时，他会哭。他指出，像许多亚洲男孩一样，他是一个“大器晚成的人”，随着他越来越多地参与学校的戏剧和戏剧系，他经历了重大的个人成长。这揭示了亚洲青年面临的压力，以及拥抱自己独特旅程的变革力量。
问题自然就来了:这个非常受欢迎的亚洲孩子是如何克服这些挑战，最终成为全国知名人物，甚至竞选国家最高职位的?
从律师到首席执行官再到非营利组织领导人，杨的职业生涯凸显了生活不可预测的本质，结果很少与我们最初的期望一致。
他以自己在非营利组织的领导经历说明了这一点，在那里，获得支持者和筹款人的成功率为15%，与亚洲孩子对学习方面的标准相比对比鲜明。杨安泽强调了拥抱失败的价值，得之不易的胜利带来的好处和认可超过了众多的挫折。他鼓励青少年朋友勇敢地追求自己的梦想，不要害怕失败。
杨安泽谈及了学术期望与现实挑战之间的两难，他以在场一名渴望传播宗教信息的青少年为例进行了阐述。他强调，即使这位有志成为灵性领袖的青少年只能触及预期受众的5%，对这些个体的影响也是深远的。他认为，虽然学术成功常常要求完美，但现实世界的成功则在于接受并从错误中学习，并欢庆每一次胜利的到来。这种观点挑战了亚洲家庭普遍认为完美是唯一可接受标准的观念。
杨安泽的经历提供了一个独特的视角来审视亚裔对失败的看法。通过质疑学术完美的重要性，倡导年轻人对错误采取更包容的态度。当我们深入了解杨安泽的见解时，可以明显感觉到，接受失败并不是一种挫折，而是亚裔社区中个人和专业成长的宝贵工具。藉由他的经验养成的不怕失败的心态，是培育未来青少年领袖、迎接挑战和机遇的基础。
Andrew Yang:Challenging Cultural Norms by Embracing Failure
Date: February 20,2024
Location: Chapel Hill Chinese School
Author: Caroline Wang
In the world of American politics, few stories are as inspiring as that of Andrew Yang, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, who defied convention to become a national figure and a presidential candidate.
His transformation from an introverted, “angry” teenager to a prominent figure offers valuable insights into the Asian perspective on failure. In a typical Asian household, where success is often tied to academic achievements, Yang’s experiences underscore the significance of embracing failure for personal and professional growth.
At the MOVENC Youth Leadership Workshop on February 20th,2024,Yang shared these insights through interviews and engaging activities with presenters Eric Ye, Katie Shen, and Maggie Su, offering a unique perspective on navigating uncharted paths.
Andrew Yang’s early years were marked by the familiar pressures of a typical Asian household, with expectations of excelling academically and securing a stable job. Describing himself as a skinny, scrawny, nerdy kid,” Andrew recounted how, in third grade, he would cry when it came time for him to present in front of the class. He notes that, like many Asian boys, he was a “late bloomer,” undergoing significant personal growth as he became increasingly involved in his school’s plays and theater department. This sheds light on the pressures faced by Asian youth and the transformative power of embracing one’s unique journey.
The question that naturally arises is: How did this all-too-relatable Asian kid overcome these challenges to ultimately ascend to the status of a national figure and even run for the highest office in the country?
Yang’s career path, from lawyer to CEO to nonprofit leader, highlights life’s unpredictable nature, where outcomes rarely align with our initial expectations.
He illustrates this with his nonprofit leadership experience, where securing supporters and fundraisers yielded a 15%success rate, contrasting sharply with the high academic standards expected of Asian children. Yang stresses the value of embracing failure, noting that the benefits and recognition from rare victories outweigh the multitude of setbacks. He encourages us to pursue our endeavors boldly, without fear of failure holding us back.
Yang addresses the dichotomy between academic expectations and real-life challenges,illustrating this with a teen in the audience aspiring to spread a religious message.He emphasizes that even if the aspiring spiritual leader reaches just 5%of the intended audience,the impact on those individuals is profound.He contends that while academic success often demands perfection,real-world success is about accepting and learning from mistakes and celebrating each victory that comes along. This perspective challenges the prevalent notion within Asian houscholds that perfection is the only acceptable standard.
Andrew Yang’s experiences provide a unique lens through which to examine the Asian perspective on failure. By challenging the cultural significance on academic perfection and promoting a more embracing attitude toward mistakes, Yang contributes to a shift that better prepares Asian youth for the realities of the real world. As we delve into Yang’s insights, it becomes evident that embracing failure is not a setback but a valuable tool for personal and professional growth within the Asian community. This mindset, nurtured through the experiences shared by Yang, serves as a foundation to grow and prepare the youth leaders of the future for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
