User:Richardphung/Life

=Life=

Early Childhood
Richard Phung was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 20, 1983 as the first son of Gay (mother) & An Chay (father) Phung. Little is known about the processes leading up to or the transitional period after his birth.

When Richard was 2-years old, his parents found opportunities in the town of Marshall, AR where they started a humble business known as the Marshall Motel & Restaurant, a small motor-lodge and road-side cafe. Richard's younger brother, Raymond, was introduced to the Phung family on December 12, 1986. For the first 13 years of his life, Richard and his family lived in a section of the motel that was converted into a 2-bedroom apartment. The living space was small but adequate and was convenient as the family business was connected via a conjoining hallway space that Richard's parents built in the conversion process. Growing up so close to work, Richard always retains memories of the restaurant in his recollection of early childhood: When Richard was 14 years old, his parents decided to start construction of a house in Leslie, AR. The construction process was exciting as it brought an overall change of pace to the family and provided a permanent foundation. Life at this point would bring additional duties which would be best described as typical farm work. Richard would clear brush, drive the tractor, and raise livestock. In the few years that Richard lived in Leslie, he would have the opportunity to enjoy several aspects of outdoor living: recreational firearms, fishing, horseback riding, and ATVs.

For the most part, life for the Phung family was fairly simple. Hard-work and a sense of accomplishment for having exceeded personal challenges were values that Richard's parents instilled upon their children at an early age. Educational excellence was expected of the two boys. Both of Richard's parents came from relatively conservative Chinese or Chinese/Vietnamese culture, but immigrated to the United States through very different avenues. The difficulties of social and cultural assimilation and adaptation proved to be a great challenge to his parents, and their ability to overcome these obstacles in pursuit of the American Dream influences Richard in profound ways.

Both Richard and his brother are considered first generation, and as cultural and social conflicts played a particularly prevalent role in Richard's development, he would claim very little association with his ethnic descent. In fact, Richard would argue that he prefers the "genuine southern values" of the ethnic majority in Arkansas, despite frequent miscommunications and particular racial stereotypes that were prevalent at the time of his upbringing. Richard's parents spoke a combination of Cantonese and English at home, however Richard is not bilingual. He would claim that "languages are his weakest point."

As a child, Richard attended religious services as a Missionary Baptist, and was saved at age 13. By age 15, however, the amalgamation of other world views and life experiences had altered his view point, and by age 17, all remnants of Christian faith had been replaced by more moderate views towards life and morality. At age 25, Richard does not place any faith into any religion that claims an exclusive truth or a single divine consciousness, and in many cases he will condemn actions driven by ignorance or fundamentalism inspired by these beliefs.