November 19, 2025
Here Is My Beginning,
Head down, sunglasses and mask on, baseball cap pulled low, I grabbed what was on the grocery list from my mother as quickly as possible. My father's voice echoed in my mind as I sped through the produce section. Don't stay longer than you have to.
The first wave of the pandemic back in March 2020 brought Asian xenophobia into full throttle. Even in my small Caucasian town, I was noticing strange interactions. Whether it was the disapproving shake of a head or a full-on racial slur, it incited fear in me I couldn't shake. And this proved to be difficult to ignore when I was consistently the only Asian person in the room. I was a child again-kids were stretching their eyes sideways at me, singing ching chong in accented voices, laughing at the food I brought for lunch. I was "ugly"; "smelly"; and, worse, an outsider.
Head down, sunglasses and mask on, baseball cap pulled low, I grabbed what was on the grocery list from my mother as quickly as possible. My father's voice echoed in my mind as I sped through the produce section. Don't stay longer than you have to.
The first wave of the pandemic back in March 2020 brought Asian xenophobia into full throttle. Even in my small Caucasian town, I was noticing strange interactions. Whether it was the disapproving shake of a head or a full-on racial slur, it incited fear in me I couldn't shake. And this proved to be difficult to ignore when I was consistently the only Asian person in the room. I was a child again-kids were stretching their eyes sideways at me, singing ching chong in accented voices, laughing at the food I brought for lunch. I was "ugly"; "smelly"; and, worse, an outsider.
