2018 BAAFN Content Award
Lana Chang - 2018 Content Award Winner
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Who We Are
by Lana Chang
by Lana Chang
I am Asian American. Half of who I am lives with my physical appearance and the other half with my experiences. I am incomplete without either on of them and that is what makes me unique. Being Asian American is not simple, especially today when racism is gaining more attention, but I believe that being Asian American means remembering our heritage, being proud of our identities, and standing up for ourselves and each other.
Being Asian American means remembering where we come from. The parts of us that are engraved in our DNA are parts of us that we cannot change. No amount of plastic surgery can redesign our heritage, and because of this we have to embrace our roots. Each Asian American holds a history of pain and sacrifice within them. Someone had to make the sacrifice of leaving behind everything they knew to give us a shot at a better life, so the very least we can do is remember who they were. These people never celebrated Independence Day with fireworks, or Thanksgiving with a turkey. They celebrated the Lunar New Year, or Children’s Day, and ate rice cakes and told fortunes. We cannot forget that our ancestors were not the Pilgrims but emperors of dynasties, not those who suffered in the potato famine but those whose countries were torn in two by war, who invaded each others’ land and scarred each other physically and emotionally. We do not have a beautiful history, but we have a beautiful heritage that we cannot and should never try to get rid of. We have to always remember who we are, and what made us who we are.
It is equally important to be proud of the fact that we are both Asian and American. Being part of two communities but being rejected by both communities at the same time is far from easy. According to society, we don’t act Asian enough to be Asian and we don’t look American enough to be American. We don’t fit into either category, but just hovering around between them is not an option. Being proud of who we are is the first step to paving a road that does not have to be just Asian or just American. We know that both parts of our identities are essential to making us who we are, so instead of hating that we are trapped in the middle, we have to be proud that we are different. Instead of being upset that we have to work to find a balance between the cultures, we should be thankful to have such a variety of beautiful traditions. We have to be proud of who we are because being both American and Asian is fundamental to our identities.
At the same time, being Asian American means standing up for ourselves and each other. I remember a couple years ago I was playing at a playground with my cousins when a group of boys came over and began complaining about how this group of “Chinese people” were in their way. I was seething, but fear kept my mouth shut as a I planned to just walk away. Before I could however, my six-year-old cousins decided that if I wasn’t going to say anything, they would. They yelled back at the boys that we weren’t Chinese, and that they should get their countries right. I was ashamed that day because my younger cousins had more courage than I did to say something. From then on, I decided that I would stand up for myself if it ever happened again. Just like my cousins inspired me to become more courageous, anyone of us could do the exact same thing and help empower thousands of other people, just by saying something. At the same time, it will remind people to think about what they are going to say before it could hurts someone. It isn’t easy to step up and call someone out for something they said, but not doing anything will never make a change. We have to try to step out of our comfort zones to stand up for ourselves and our beliefs.
I am Asian American. I believe that being Asian American means remembering our roots, being proud of our race, and advocating for ourselves and others, but that’s not all. As Asian Americans, we have to look inside of ourselves and discover what we value most and through that, decide for ourselves what it really means to Asian American.
Being Asian American means remembering where we come from. The parts of us that are engraved in our DNA are parts of us that we cannot change. No amount of plastic surgery can redesign our heritage, and because of this we have to embrace our roots. Each Asian American holds a history of pain and sacrifice within them. Someone had to make the sacrifice of leaving behind everything they knew to give us a shot at a better life, so the very least we can do is remember who they were. These people never celebrated Independence Day with fireworks, or Thanksgiving with a turkey. They celebrated the Lunar New Year, or Children’s Day, and ate rice cakes and told fortunes. We cannot forget that our ancestors were not the Pilgrims but emperors of dynasties, not those who suffered in the potato famine but those whose countries were torn in two by war, who invaded each others’ land and scarred each other physically and emotionally. We do not have a beautiful history, but we have a beautiful heritage that we cannot and should never try to get rid of. We have to always remember who we are, and what made us who we are.
It is equally important to be proud of the fact that we are both Asian and American. Being part of two communities but being rejected by both communities at the same time is far from easy. According to society, we don’t act Asian enough to be Asian and we don’t look American enough to be American. We don’t fit into either category, but just hovering around between them is not an option. Being proud of who we are is the first step to paving a road that does not have to be just Asian or just American. We know that both parts of our identities are essential to making us who we are, so instead of hating that we are trapped in the middle, we have to be proud that we are different. Instead of being upset that we have to work to find a balance between the cultures, we should be thankful to have such a variety of beautiful traditions. We have to be proud of who we are because being both American and Asian is fundamental to our identities.
At the same time, being Asian American means standing up for ourselves and each other. I remember a couple years ago I was playing at a playground with my cousins when a group of boys came over and began complaining about how this group of “Chinese people” were in their way. I was seething, but fear kept my mouth shut as a I planned to just walk away. Before I could however, my six-year-old cousins decided that if I wasn’t going to say anything, they would. They yelled back at the boys that we weren’t Chinese, and that they should get their countries right. I was ashamed that day because my younger cousins had more courage than I did to say something. From then on, I decided that I would stand up for myself if it ever happened again. Just like my cousins inspired me to become more courageous, anyone of us could do the exact same thing and help empower thousands of other people, just by saying something. At the same time, it will remind people to think about what they are going to say before it could hurts someone. It isn’t easy to step up and call someone out for something they said, but not doing anything will never make a change. We have to try to step out of our comfort zones to stand up for ourselves and our beliefs.
I am Asian American. I believe that being Asian American means remembering our roots, being proud of our race, and advocating for ourselves and others, but that’s not all. As Asian Americans, we have to look inside of ourselves and discover what we value most and through that, decide for ourselves what it really means to Asian American.
