I was excited for the Edge of Seventeen the second I saw the trailer. Beyond a funny and clearly well-written and fresh take on the cliche-burdened genre of young teen movies, it featured such raw and realistic performances and a person of color – wait for it – as a love interest.

I patiently waited for Edge of Seventeen to make its way onto the esteemed list of Top Teen Movies which include the cult classics, Mean Girls and Clueless. During its time in theaters, I combed through social media, searching for hints of millennial approval of this intelligent, groundbreaking movie. But it seemed like nobody was as hyped for it as I was.

The movie has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The New York Times claimed: "To call The Edge of Seventeen is a smart, achingly bittersweet comedy." Beyond that, it was a genuinely funny, enjoyable movie.

So why weren't people talking about it? Moreover, why wasn't anyone talking about how important and unique it was that director Kelly Fremon Craig cast Hayden Szeto, an Asian male for a role as a love interest?

A little bit of Hollywood's history with people of color – there are shockingly few. And by history I mean news. It is happening today, right now. Even when Asians do manage to score a role (as in one of the rare cases their culture and roles aren't being whitewashed by Hollywood), they are often stereotyped into a nerdy, geeky character or a techie. Very, very rarely do we get to see an Asian as a lead, let alone a lead love interest.

According to an interview done with Buzzfeed News, Szeto himself had originally thought that his character, Erwin, would be rejected.

Because of the media we consume, we have all been subconsciously conditioned to think that quiet, Asians are not "supposed" to get the girl or play the lead role in movies. Any deviation from that norm sparks articles and twitter meltdowns.

What type of condescending message is Hollywood trying to tell us?

As an Asian actor, Szeto said to Buzzfeed News, "you're just used to a certain kind of role...you know, the best friend, the tech guy, or anything that underrepresented you as a human being."

As long as people of color's stories are not being told, minorities will forever be seen as a sidekick character, the supportive best friend, the geek in the corner, or the techie whose only role is to clarify plot points for the audience. (And no, casting white people in the already limited roles meant for Asians don't count.) How tragic is it that an entire part of the US population's stories are completely left out? Are my life and stories of others like me not important enough to be told?

So thank you to Hayden Szeto, Kelly Fermon Craig, and the team on Edge of Seventeen. Edge of Seventeen managed to weave an Asian American's story into the organic fabric of teenage life. It's a movie that needs to be talked about, quoted, and most importantly, made into memes.