Finding Yourself

I grew up in a town where in our high school, I was one of roughly 5 Asians, fewer of which grew up in an Asian household. You could imagine that that meant I was surrounded by very few people with relatable cultural experiences and understood me. However, middle school and high school is a time for people to begin to find themselves and develop a personality that makes them them. A big part of finding yourself stem from the people you surround yourself with, but at the core, you just want to be accepted by people. Therefore, like it or not, the people around you shape who you are in your efforts to fit in. My point is, growing up in an all-white town, effects you as an Asian American as you will obviously stand out as the different one. All the Asian stereotypes get thrown at you and even if you fit most of those stereotypes such as being good at math or being shy, it hurts to be categorized and seen solely based on those stereotypes. But, then again, as a rising teen, you don’t always want to stand out, let alone based on racial stereotypes. This leads to things such as self-deprecation through said stereotypes and you laugh at and make super racist jokes. At one point you ask yourself, “Why am I supporting something that tarnishes my own roots?” You eventually grow to accept the situation you are in and do your best to filter what you hear and surround yourself with close, lifelong friends that see you and appreciate you beyond your Asian characteristics.