My Name

My name is Calvin.  The name itself has very little significance to my parents (my dad picked it because he like Calvin & Hobbes).  I don't think my name has had too much impact on me as a person; its not too common but its common enough.  There is a comic series, a fashion line, a singer and a president all with my name, but not much else. I think my name fits me fine.  I think Gogol finds his name such a hindrance because its so unique that he doesn't feel like he can connect with anyone, which is not a problem for those who have common names (in his mind).  Even though I've met very few Calvin's, I haven't had that problem before.

Heritage

I am half-Asian, half-Caucasian.  My mother is Chinese and a first generation immigrant to the United States while my father can trace his heritage back to the Mayflower.  Both sides of my family are extremely different.  My mother has one brother, grew up at an elite boarding school, and immigrated to the U.S. for college.  My dad has many siblings, I believe 3 fully related and about 6 half siblings, he grew up in Alabama and went to Georgia Tech for college, where my parents met.

Growing up in California I was never really around my extended family, and my parents both dislike the culture of where they came from, so I don't have any stereotypical southern or Chinese traditions.  I also don't identify as either Chinese or white; The schools I went to growing up were about 50-50 white and Asian.  I don't really identify with any heritage, and there is no specific food or tradition that is culturally significant to me.  For example, I love wantons, which are are a Chinese tradition, but I love them because my mom has made it for me since I was young, not because they connect me to any Chinese heritage.  I don't speak Chinese nor do I have a southern accent (I can't even fake one).  I guess I don't have much in the way of heritage.