­How to be Asian American

Wake up. Get ready for the day

Brush your teeth, wash your face

Do the routine you already have in place

Eat breakfast, don’t overthink

Rice, Cereal, Kimchi, Toast 

All of it means breakfast- you don’t have to eat traditional foods. 

Go to school, go to work, go hangout with friends 

It’s all the same as what you’d think they’d be

It’s easy. Easy as pie. 

The things you’ve never noticed, will start to pick up 

“You’re pretty” substituted with “You’re pretty for an Asian.”

“Do. You. Speak. English?” Filled with hand gestures to fluent lines. 

The way people silence you, 

The way you’re being seen. 

Too bad you got a B+ in math, that wasn’t the expectation set. 

Watch the weight of your words float,

Your eyes reflected on others, stretched

Realize that “Chink” now holds meaning. 

Find allies you need to survive, 

People who understand orange chicken isn’t Chinese,

Keep this in mind. 

我不是一個對象

Wǒ bùshì yīgè duìxiàng

我不喜歡你的凝視

wǒ bù xǐhuān nǐ de níngshì

您不是以英語為母語嗎？

nín bùshì yǐ yīngyǔ wèi mǔyǔ ma?