I identify myself as an Asian American and I'm proud to be an Asian American. Growing up, I faced many obstacles for me to believe I'm not "Asian enough." Keep in mind: this is MY experience, therefore, everyone's experience will vary from mine.
In elementary school, I was the only Asian girl in my graduating class, which is typical considering my elementary school had only 4% of Asians in the school at the time. I was used to being the only Asian in my classes. All my friends in grade school were Mexican or black. I identified as being Asian and I didn't think about justifying being Asian. It was obvious I was Asian. I did not have to worry about not being Asian enough because I didn't have a lot of people to compare to.
It wasn't until I was in high school when I had the epiphany. On the first day of high school, I remember seeing Asian students which were shocking to me because I was used to being the only Asian student in the classroom. It was nice to see people who looked like me. However, I noticed that all the Asians came together and talked to each other because they knew each other prior to high school and. I was the only Asian in my class who didn't know any Asians outside of school. I remember trying to talk to them but it was hard for me to connect with them because we had different upbringings. My Asian classmates came from the same neighborhood and went to the same schools. Whereas for me, I didn't go to the "Asian" schools and I didn't live in a neighborhood with a plethora of Asian influences. Unlike my classmates, I didn't grow up watching anime or always hanging out in Chinatown.
In college, it was a major culture shock for me because I was surrounded by more Asians. Although being around these many Asians was something I was not used to, I still kept an open mind and tried to get to know them. I struggled to connect with some of the Asians I met in college because as I said before, we had different upbringings and different interests. For example, a common stereotype for Asians is that they pursue in careers in the STEM field. In my experience, a lot of the Asians I met were on a nursing track whereas myself I had no interest in STEM field. In my experiences in trying to get to know them, they would exclude me out just because I was "too ghetto to be Asian" or I just didn't like the same things they were into. Because of that experience, I questioned my identity. Then I learned that I shouldn't feel discouraged because some people don't think I'm Asian enough. Instead, it only matters of what I think of myself.
Despite defying some of the Asian stereotypes, it does not make me less of an Asian. I am proud of being Asian and I wouldn't change who I am.