The new SCA-5 law that may be passed soon brings up lots of feelings of unfair and unequal treatment. The law wants to repeal Proposition 209, which states that the government cannot base admission to a public state school based off race, ethnicity, or sex. As an Asian American living in San Francisco, I often take the respect that I receive as a person, regardless of the fact that I’m Asian, for granted. But I’ve realized over the years that once you venture outside of the Asian bubbles in California, Asian people are often ridiculed or considered second-class citizens. The ridiculousness of these actions either bring me to tears or makes me want to punch all those ignorant people in the face or in the balls, depending on the gender. (Though, I’ve heard that getting kicked in the crotch regardless of gender is quite painful.) I would say that I’m pretty damn American; in fact, quite a number of my peers and friends say that I’m whitewashed. My favorite cuisine is Italian, my Chinese is quite mediocre, and my favorite subject is history, not math. (Seriously people, I hate math. My C in Precalc Honors will prove it to you.) My family and I do family hiking trips and travel the country just to walk trails, love baseball and are season ticket holders for the Giants, and relax like every other stereotypical American, through eating and watching TV. So please, next time, before you start generalizing all Asian Americans, think of me coming to you and kicking you in the balls or not-balls. But the one thing that irks me the most about Asian generalizations is one that I already hinted at, academic excellence. Holy F!@#, if another person comes up to me and says, “Hey Asian girl! Wanna help me with this math problem,” someone is going to get murdered. STOP. JUST. NO. Not all Asians are good at math y’know? In fact, here’s a news breaker, NOT ALL ASIANS ARE GOOD AT SCHOOL. Sure, you’re always going to have those really smart Asian kids who take 7 AP classes and then manage to get a 5.0. Those are the ones that you will always think of us Asian kids as, but really, think about it realistically. People often only think of the cream of the crop or the worst of us all, but no one stops to pay attention to the majority of us in the middle. Most of my friends have B’s on our transcripts. (OH NO, B’S? WHAT IS THIS? WHY HASN’T YOUR FAMILY DISINHERITED YOU YET?) My grades aren’t stellar at all, and I’m pretty sure I’m almost like the average American kid who wants to go to a decent college. But just because I’m Asian, people set my standards higher because I’m supposed to be that perfect student. The SCA-5 law will make my journey to getting to a UC even more difficult than ever just because of my ethnic background. It’s not based off my academics, personal statement, or extracurriculars. How is this fair? Why am I, just another student getting a public education in the state that often scores the lowest and has one of the lowest education budgets in the country, getting singled out because I’m “supposed” to be better and more academically driven than any other race? The entire state of California is fueling the segregation of races, trying to divide the melting pot that the United States is. Now, Amy Chua and her book about how Asians are successful and all that jazz isn’t helping my case. (No, my mother did not threaten to burn all my stuffed animals if I wasn't perfect and force me to practice the violin for hours a day.) But if you think about it, she helps me prove my following point. Asians are afraid of failure. Failure is not an acceptable option. Thinking about the famous and successful people, the Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerbergs, and the Steve Jobs, of the world, notice how they aren’t Asian? When you think of successful Americans, do you think of an Asian person? Probably not. My Asian and American instincts are pulling at me; my Asian ones tell me that failure will result in the world ending, but my American ones tell me that I will rise and do better next time, as cheesy as that sounds. And by learning more and more about myself over the years, the American approach is the better option for me. But with SCA-5 possibly going to be in play when it is my turn to submit those dreaded college applications, where can I possibly fail and learn? Must I always be another incredibly successful stereotypical Asian in the fact that I get a respectable job that pays extremely well? I’ve always known that I don’t want to just disappear into the San Francisco fog as just another well off Asian person. This may be my 16, almost 17 year old naiveté, but I want to be the risk taker, the greater fool, the person that makes an impact on the world, especially in college, where I will have the chance to experience the world in a whole different light.
By Sabrina Lin (guest author)
Submit your writing here Like us on Facebook
By Sabrina Lin (guest author)
Submit your writing here Like us on Facebook