Colourfully diverse: The writer hopes to live in a world where Asians aren’t automatically deemed nerdy and antisocial, and can play leading roles in Hollywood films –like the cast of Crazy Rich Asians (from left) Michelle Yeoh, Ken Jeong, Henry Golding, Awkwafina and Constance Wu. — AP
IT is not how long I have been here, but how much I am accepted before I can call the place home. Living in a white-dominated country as an Asian can be a challenge, irrespective of duration. Racist incidents big and small can occur frequently, unpredictably. A passer-by might put up their middle finger at you; a stranger in a grocery store might blurt out racial slurs and jokes against you; people behind you might mock you by mimicking you speaking an Asian language with your Asian friends.
Sometimes, I question my existence, as much as I worry about my next days. I have, at times, wished I could become white. I hope to walk down the street in a “foreign” country as I do in an Asian country.
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