Of Heritage and Fitting In

For as long as I can remember, I haven't been the biggest fan of my eyes. It's one thing that has left me most insecure. Although it's human to worry about appearances, I think a lot of it has to do with what we are told is beautiful. People around me have often laughed at how my eyes look, and whether it be joking or not, it certainly has an effect on me.

Being part Vietnamese, I am looked at a certain way. Like all races, there are stereotypes. I think the Vietnamese culture is wonderful and beautiful, but having a family who is very much Canadian (and white skinned), I've always felt like a bit of an outsider. In order to fit in into a lot of groups, I feel like I have to clarify that I am in fact part Canadian.

This is horrible. And I know that a lot of people deal with it. We're okay with your race as long as you act like us is an attitude I have seen a lot. We live in a Westernized culture where people who don't fit into the norms are often not included.

Racist jokes and attitudes do have a huge effect on people. For example, as a kid I was always picked on and told that I was a "nerd." Although by definition, that would make me really smart, and that would be great, I was an average student. And I didn't like being told who I was and it made me want to prove to people otherwise, so I tried to lower my grades in school.

It's not uncommon for people to make jokes about my eyes either. What eyes? Open your eyes. Can you even see? It's very familiar. And it creates internalized oppression that I associate these negative comments with my heritage. While in fact, heritage should be anything but something to be ashamed of. Who we are is something that is wonderful.

I've started to take a step back and think. Why are all these things so bad anyways? My background should be something to be proud of! There should be absolutely wrong with me expressing it because it's a huge part of me. Learning new things about myself feels great, and I love realizing how beautiful my physical attributes associated with the culture's people are.

It's important that we learn to embrace each other's heritage. That we learn about racial diversity, and how one vast culture is unique to every single person. By surrounding ourselves with people who are different than us, it opens a whole new perspective. Instead of relying on stereotypes and having a common ground of living in a Western culture, how about we take the time to get to know each person and the unique culture they have created for themselves?