Ren

So when I was born in Shanghai, China, my parents couldn't think of a name. They eventually had to decide for record purposes so my dad flipped through a Chinese dictionary until he found a word he liked, Ren, meaning perseverance through hardship. 

Eventually when we came to the West, they wanted to give me a more English sounding name so they told me to go by Ryan which I did for many years. 

Later on I realized I didn't want to whitewash myself and I was proud of my Chinese heritage and culture so here I am today. 

-Ren, Durham, NC