though having mentioned the above, i’ve never felt like i fit in. among
peers of similar age in my country, i have never chilledwith friends at
the void deck or met up at 2am at a nearby coffeeshopfor a ‘roti prata’
supper. i’m not fond of the music produced by my race,and neither is
my faith to God as strong and stable. i’d usuallydo as i am told but in
truth i feel lost and am rather fearful of the communityi supposedly
belong in.
Ethnicity|part2.
the words i’ve chosen are based off the combinationof my
observations, media influences and the teachings ofmy religion
enforced since young — little of it is how i feelor am able to relate to
my ethnicity.
Differ from Asian stereotype(s).
based off physical attributes — i’m rather tan, havedouble eyelids and
i’m not as slender compared to the typical ‘Asian’clothing sizes one
may find online. i wasn’t born smart; i had to workmy way through my
classes. my family isn’t as well off either; my siblingsand i made it
through school with bursaries and grants.
however, my parents have never pressured my siblingsand i to only
achieve A’s in our exams. i’m pretty sure a part ofthem feels bummed
out that they don’t house neither a doctor or an engineer,but i’m
forever grateful that they understand the capabilitiesof each child
differs, and that they did not force their dreamsdown our throats. with
that said, it does make me a little sad that i nevergot ballet or piano
lessons as a child. so, so much enrichment missedthat i would now
have to pay a hefty fee to experience.
A theoretical space without racism.
ideally, i think that we would be kinder to one another.different
physical attributes and spoken language not be metwith avoidance,
double takes or screams of fear and displeasure; thatwe would openly
greet and compliment one another. a world that isinclusive and
accessible to all.
i’m both lucky and grateful to have been born a Singaporeanwhere
interactions between the races are encouraged, andthat time is spent
to education and appreciate people from differentwalks of life early in
the education systems. my every day life does notdiffer that much from
the ideal i projected. having said that, racism isstill prevalent in my
country but the younger generation are doing theirbest to publicly
address the situation, unlearn the bias our parentshave instilled in us,
and educate ourselves better.
it hurts to think that we are discriminating and hatingon our own kind
based off the differences we may have in the way welook, dress speak
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