“Did your parents drop a metal pan down the stairs to name you,” “why do Asians all have pancake faces,” “hey look at this, oh wait you’re Asian, you can’t see.” Those are just a few of my #Thisis2016 moments. If I had the time and day, I could go write a whole novel on all the Asian jokes that have been said to me. But that does not sound too tempting.
Being an Asian in college has its ups and downs. College students are carefree, a little too much carefree sometimes. Out in the world, we hear Asian jokes all the time, but in college, it is much worse. One being we are at an age where we are not mature yet and two, we are surrounded by friends who think being a jerk is considered cool.
I came to the United States when I was eight years old. I moved from Guangzhou, China to Shreveport, Louisiana, then eventually made my way to Bellevue, Washington. The majority of my friends are white since I was in elementary school, and I love and adore all of them.
Many Asians who move to the states will call themselves Asian American. However, I consider myself just Asian, Chinese to be exact. I think people can and should call themselves whatever they desire with no judgment from others. I personally like Asian instead of Asian American because I was born in China and that will forever be my root. Yes, I do live here, and I probably will for the rest of my life, but think about this: if you are from the U.S and move to China right now to spend the rest of your life, are you going to call yourself Chinese?
I’ve been called a “white-washed Asian” many times, and I know if you are Asian and have lived in the U.S for a while, you’ve been called this too. That term has bothered me since the first time I’ve been called that. Just because I can speak English and dress like everyone on the streets does not mean I am white-washed. I personally would like to call it bilingual and having a sense of style.
Things definitely do not get any easier for me personally with my name being Tingting. *insert Asian name joke here. I’ve heard it all, trust me. Some are very creative, I must add. Many people have asked me why I do not want to change my name. It’s ridiculous to me why that’s even a question. A lot of people from Asia change their name when they come to the states because other people have trouble pronouncing it. For me, my name means everything to me. My grandparents named me and it is a part of me, my roots and my culture that I am so proud to be a part of. I’m not going to change my name and give all of that away just because people have a hard time of pronouncing it. So bring on the jokes because Tingting will be with me until the day I die.
There’s been many times when I am with my peers and they will say something about Asians then add on “oh but not you, though, I don’t consider you Asian.” That’s like me saying “why are white people dressed like that? But not you though, I don’t consider you white.” It does not make any sense to me. I am Asian and I am proud to be one. It’s saddening to me that people sometimes disassociate me with my roots and will say absolutely rude things about my culture and people right in front of my face. Have some respect for crying out loud.
It’s surprising to me this is still happening in 2016 (hence the hashtag #Thisis2016). I may not be a genius, but I think all of our problems in this world can be solved by just simply putting yourself in other peoples' shoes. To my fellow Asians, stand up for yourselves because your voice does matter. People sometimes look at Asians as being mellow and not outspoken, but things are not going to get fixed with us sitting on the sideline. To everyone who makes racial slurs and comments, look at yourself in the mirror, raise your hand with a fist and put up your middle finger (you just officially flipped yourself off).
