I can relate very closely to some of the experiences Cavan Reagan had growing up, as I too have an Asian mother and a white father. He made many great points that our society can be very ignorant, often saying “what are you” when wondering why people like us don’t have white skin, or being stereotyped as a little man that knows kung fu. However, he didn’t say a thing to make people think any more of him or any other half-Asian, half-black, half-whatever.

How is it possible for people to respect you if you compare yourself to a mutt, the product of a science experiment gone wrong, or an exhibit in a zoo that only stupid children stop at? He even says own cultures are just plain “bizarre.” Cavan, people shouldn’t respect you because you feel sorry for yourself for your childhood. They shouldn’t respect you for making fun of yourself; and people definitely shouldn’t respect you for calling your own culture “bizarre.”

I am part Asian and part German. When people ask me, “what are you,” I politely tell them that I am either American or Minnesotan and that is enough for people to think about. Unlike Cavan, I am not ashamed at all of my culture. I will never be mad at who I am because I don’t come from a “normal” family.

Try to get past what other people stereotype you as and be proud of who you are. Our society is an ignorant one, and that will probably never change. But don’t ever be ashamed of who you are because of the people around you who don’t understand what it’s like to have such awesome culture.

Rob Borchardt

Freshman

Chemical Engineering