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Enter stage right A boy with black hair
and narrow eyes. Allow me to introduce myself:
My last name is Kim And in case you haven?t noticed,
I?m Asian. And for my entire life I?ve always been reminded
of just How Asian I really was.
In elementary school, I was like the only Asian
In middle school, I was ?One of the Asians.?
But then, I got to my high school. Where foods like Kimchi and Lo mein
are not from Asia but from home, and teachers can correctly pronounce names
from practice. And here I have simply become known as
really Asian. I am so Asian that when I talk about pi, I
am being irrational. I am so Asian that for the first few years
of my life I thought there were only three colleges
in the entire world, and if you didn?t make it in, you were screwed.
I am so Asian, my sister suggested I write my college essay on my hero,
the number zero. I am so Asian that I spell love as less than
three. And curves to me are not sexy, but elegant,
in slope and area.
From math class, to starcraft, integral to honor roll,
school is such second nature I could do it in my sleep.
and if you?ve ever seen me in physics, I do.
Getting As, good grades, deeds worthy of praise-- but because I?m Asian,
nobody cares. Because apparently, in this country we?re
born as addicts--not to drugs, but mathematics .
Chemistry or biology (the Asian psychology) Is college,
common knowledge. So while you sit there and joke,
try and provoke an answer to ?why are you so serious??
I?m holding back my urge to spit back bull Why aren?t you curious?
I bet you never even tried to understand why the Asian populations seem
so much better at calculations.
What kind of jobs do you think Asians first had when they came to this country?
You think they were tutors? Of English? Of history?
Of a country that shared no similarity in language, custom, or culture?
They took jobs counting on fingers and toes. They worked assembly lines
even if they ending up only able to count to nine.
And they left their struggle where they stood,
so they could come back home and help those children with the only subject that they still
could Because they knew through education
comes salvation, but not for them: their children.
They tell me Eddie, be a doctor, a lawyer when you get older.
So even when the future turns colder, you?ll still have the means to shoulder
the incredible odds and live successfully,
happily. Start a family, escape the depravity--
something we tried so hard to do
for you. And I say from the bottom of my heart
?Thank you. That?s not what I want to do for the rest of my life.?
When I grow up, I want to be a teacher. I want to be like a preacher, and speak words
of wisdom to students who listen.
Invest in giving tests, help them to achieve their best
so that they can push forward the thinkings of the so-called
?West.? And tell them every day how important they
are to me, how their potential is as endless as the sea which brought our ancestors to
this incredible country. Because honestly,
we have already lost our chance to live in a world of more than just
tolerance. We have already lost our chance ever since
the Asians were called illiterates, the blacks were known as degenerates
and the Muslims were labeled terrorists Even though our parents tried so damn hard
to give us that difference.
And as children we must learn That it will soon be our turn
to be parents for the next generation And I
will be Father Kim And I will preach my message
to my congregation-- My students, my children--
And instill in them the need for a difference.
That difference begins with a movement. A movement that requires more than just
Tolerance. Exit stage right
A boy with black hair, and narrow eyes
Who would give his life to make
That difference.