Son Goku or Superman
One of my favorite stories is Akira Toriyama’s manga/anime Dragon Ball. Loosely inspired by the novel Journey to the West, Dragon Ball follows a young boy named Son Goku, who enjoys martial arts which helps him to fight strong opponents and push his limits. While Dragon Ball never explicitly states its Asian setting, Toriyama prominently features Asian food, martial arts, and characters with dark hair and eyes. These examples may sound simple, but my younger self, who grew up on white superheroes like Superman, instantly felt a deeper connection to Goku as I experienced Asian representation for the first time.
The Songs of Ages
do not forget
the ropes
suffocating the necks of
the Chinese
who sing the song of ages:
we can’t breathe.
I Belong Here: AACC Civil Rights Tour Reflection
Somehow learning that I have an Asian American accent felt fitting after learning snapshots of history. As if I inherited an unexpected gift or was mysteriously re-connected to the Asian Americans who came before me and struggled the same way. While I’ll probably always fumble over Korean, I know that regardless of my proficiency in Korean or English, I belong here.
When Code Switching is Not Enough
I was a stranger in the country, which had been home for so many years. People had moved on, and I was no longer a little child. My friends were no longer there, and my parents had a new routine as empty nesters. I had become more South Indian than they wanted me to be, and they found my new habits different. I had learned to move adeptly between two cultures, but I was neither here nor there.
Loving
Dad, a white man born in Kansas—
grew up in a time when plenty
folks who looked like them
were not allowed to wed,
To Bless My Chinese Self
I felt that I existed as a series of masks, appearing as others wanted me to, but without any sense of who I actually was. I waded through a depressive fog, wondering if there was any hope to feel at peace in the body that felt so foreign to me.
When a Supermarket Became My Hero
No matter how hard I tried to explain my Indonesian origins to those around me, my face erased my story.
Inheritance Remembered
Enjoy your cultural tapestry
Embrace your ancestral terrain.
Remember they once had nothing
Remember from whence you came.
If My Nose Could Reclaim Heritage
Look at her nose.
It’s like mine.
I am both
I couldn’t see myself as both
not because I did not want to
but because society told me I couldn’t be
both
Psalm 17: A Prayer for Asian Americans
Over time, the soft yet profound distinctions between being Koreans in America and being Koreanamericans settled into our lives. Ye Eun yielded to Julie as I underwent a nearly complete transformation and became a cultural stranger to my ancestors. Yet to this day, no prayer moves me more than ones uttered in my mother tongue.
Where I’m From
I’m from “Did you eat yet?” and “Practice your piano,”
From “Don’t get to dark or you’ll smell like the sun”
Angry Prayer: Tongsung Gido and Our Difficult Emotions
What tongsung gido had been saying all along is this: our negative emotions have a place in our relationship with God and with each other. We are all angry. We all know the contours of despair. We have only to direct our cries heavenward, together.