quiet-the-power-of-introverts-in-a-world-that-cant-stop-talking-susan-cain

and stuff, but my mom doesn’t want me
going out that much, because I have to
study.”
I’m struck by the young woman’s
sense of filial obligation, and its connection
to prioritizing study over social
life. But this is not unusual in Cupertino.
Many Asian-American kids here
tell me that they study all summer at
their parents’ request, even declining
invitations to July birthday parties so
they can get ahead on the following
October’s calculus curriculum.
“I think it’s our culture,” explains
Tiffany Liao, a poised Swarthmorebound
high school senior whose parents
are from Taiwan. “Study, do well,
don’t create waves. It’s inbred in us to
be more quiet. When I was a kid and
would go to my parents’ friends’ house
and didn’t want to talk, I would bring a
book. It was like this shield, and they
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