Coherent thoughts perhaps?

I find it intriguing that when people ask me, "Where are you from?" and I naturally answer, "New York."

They always stare strangely at me for a second before saying, "No, I mean where are you originally from?"

I can't really fault them for asking that because there's an answer to it. I wasn't born in the US, I was born in Hong Kong and I am qualified to receive an ID card that the Hong Kong government issues to all its legal citizens. I have still yet to figure out if that makes me a pseudo-citizen of the People's Republic of China by extension.

Actually, I just don't care to find out.

I do know I don't qualify for British citizenship, but it's fun to claim being so by technicality.

Had I not been born out of this country, I would probably be a lot more offended by that question. What probably most curious is that most people that follow that line of questioning are from a minority group themselves. You wouldn't go up to a black person and ask, "So...where in Africa are you originally from?" Hell, they'd probably slap you around a few times for asking that.

Goddammit, I am as American as the next person. I have a US passport, social security card, a birth certificate issued by the States Department, and a voter's card registered to my Pennsylvania residency. I pay my taxes. The government took $65.10 for social security tax (Will it still be there by the time my generation comes of age with the way they keep proding and poking at it?) and $15.23 for medicare tax this past year. I was working under NYC's Department of Youth and Community Development last summer.

I also received a 4 out of 5 on my AP American History exam.

I am a 100% legal bona fide American citizen.

I am, however, still awaiting my first time to try and shirk off jury duty.

I came over here when I was just four months old. I have spent all but four months of my life on American soil. Guess that makes me not quite American enough.

What could be so incredulous about an Asian from New York? We are about 10% of the city population.

Would they feel stupid if I had just replied New York again? If they had asked my brother instead, who was born here in New York, would they realize how stupid a question that is if you didn't happen to ask the Asian with the right circumstances?

Why can't Asian Americans simply be Americans too?

...

What to do when it's 1:30 in the morning, you're out of pads and bleeding like a mothafucka?

Or was that TMI?

Le sigh

March 31 has come and gone, so it looks like Scholastic doesn't want little old me. So begins the search for summer job/purpose all anew.

Open research assistant (aka slave) positions at the User Studies Lab at Human-Computer Interactions... I think I'll have to write a cover letter for this one.

Maybe I'll take some summer classes and then be able to squeeze in double major in International Relations instead of a minor.

My B.S. in Psych will hopefully mean something more than those three extra science course requirements someday...

*shuffles off to write very late article on Asian American mental health issues for Big Straw...*