Seeing one of my kind

Behind us at the Naked and Famous concert, a girl said, “Wow! She’s so awesome—representing our kind!”

Although I consider myself American, I am still acutely aware of my ethnicity.

I can sense the slight intention when someone asks, “Where are you from?” The difference between where I grew up and where my heritage is originally from. In college, I often would take the sarcastic route when sensing the later—”Of the earth, of the sea!” I exclaimed proudly. Or if I was in a more lecturing mood, I would often fall into a discussion of how ethnicity and nationality were distinctly different.

But I can’t help but feeling something when I see a fellow Asian in the spotlight—whether it’s good or bad. In leadership, arts, news…it’s different.

So like the girl, when I saw the lead singer onstage. Realizing that she’s Asian (although from New Zealand), I oddly enough felt pride even though she and I shared nothing alike except our heritage.

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