My Race

I’m biracial. My dad is romanian; my mom chinese. They both moved to the U.S.A. for grad school and met each other there. One of the crowds I vaguely belong to is the chinese community around Wilmette. Although I do in part belong to that community, I understand little to no chinese which makes spending time with their families awkwards. When it comes to my romanian side, I have some family friends on that side, but no friends at school or the like. There is a club at my school called WAYA (short for what are you anyway) for biracial students, and unlike many people of mixed races I have an answer. Since I look chinese and spend time around chinese friends, I consider myself to be an asian-american. 

I don’t know very much about asian culture outside the U.S. but when it comes to chinese culture in the USA I have some understanding. There is a pretty common stereotype of a chinese family. There was this meme I once saw about how grades are viewed by asian parents, with an A being average, and anything lower subpar. There is this long running stereotype and expectation of academic excellence, especially in STEM, among asian students. By being a part of said community, even if it is not coming from my parents, there remains some pressure to succeed. 

Although I consider myself to be of the east asian race, I am most definitely an american. I was born and raised here for as long as my memories go, along with the vast majority of my friends. I have rarely left this country, vaguely follow American politics and national issues, and listen to rock. I might not be the quintessential american, but that is my country, and that is my ethnicity.