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Had I been born Caucasian, I probably would
have never written anything like this. However, since
I have grown up with the perspective of an Asian person,
I feel I have views that are unique to that race and
I want to share them. There have been quite a few positives
and negatives to having grown up Asian in a predominantly
Caucasian atmosphere. It may be different for other
Asians, but I feel like there are a lot of you out there
that have felt the same as I have at one time or another.
I don't feel like writing this essay style, so you'll
see a lot of lists.
Perceptions:
Most people assume that Asians are somewhat intelligent
This is good and bad at the same time. For one, it
gives you a bit of an edge when it comes to people picking
out a team member for some group activity. If people
think you're smart just because you're Asian, they might
just want you. The bad thing about it is if you aren't
really that smart, and then you don't meet their expectations
and make a fool out of yourself. That was one of my
biggest fears growing up. I was never really sure if
I was really smart, or if people just assumed I was
smart.
Asians are social retards
In a way I feel this is true only if you grew up in
an environment where social activity was prohibited.
In my household, it went both ways. We were allowed
to go outside and play with friends, but it was a rare
occasion and usually took a lot of begging. We could
go to birthday parties of school friends and family
friends, and occasionally, we could spend the night.
Even then, once you got home, it's not like they really
cared if you had a good time. Asian parents act like
robots a lot. No emotion, no spiritual connection...just
parenting, plain and simple. They don't tell you how
to talk to people, because they're always telling you
not to talk back or speak your mind and keep quiet.
I am a social retard.
Asians are nerds
For the most part this is true when it comes to me.
I don't view it as a bad thing unless it affects your
social and emotional well-being. I'd rather people think
I was a nerd than a dumbass any day. In a way, I feel
good that my parents made me do extra learning stuff
at home on top of the homework I had. I learned multiplication
and division at home before I did at school, and that
made me comfortable when they taught it. I learned a
lot of vocabulary at home as well. I liked learning
and playing with learning programs on the ol' Commodore
64. I liked reading non-fiction books. I feel that there
are other Asians (and even non-Asians) that were just
like that. I think being nerdy has helped me some.
Asians have slanted eyes
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(my pic)
Not as "slanted"
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(Lisa Ling - The View) A little more "slanted"
upwards
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Personally, I don't feel like my eyes are slanted.
They may be more almond-shaped than my Caucasian counterparts,
but definitely not pointing some angular direction.
There are, however, many Asians that do have eyes that
appear to be slanted, in comparison to a person with
level eyes. I think all people white, black, and Hispanic
folks can have slanted eyes. We just have the most amount
of people who do, I guess. The only thing that bothers
me is when people assume ALL Asians have eyes that are
slanted.
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