by Nan Ding ’14

Originally presented during all-school assembly on Tuesday, May 15, 2012.

Hey, guys. I’m Nan. And I’m an Asian.

Suppose all of you guys don’t know me yet, but you know I’m from the old and mysterious Eastern hemisphere.

So, you guys may think, well….

I’m quiet
Good at science
A brilliant math student
Short
Not very athletic
Wearing glasses

Well, yeah. Most of them are true for me. But those are just the stereotypes of Asian people.

Recently, I went to the Asian American conference and many Asians sort of reached an agreement that—Americans are kind of weird.

We don’t get why you guys grind on the dance floor. We don’t get why boys and girls can kiss when they’re not literally “dating.”

Well, I guess for Americans, Asians might seem weird as well. For girls who are close to each other, we hold hands and go to the bathroom together. I don’t know whether you guys will think that’s intimate. Actually, we are just good friends.

So, how can we understand each other well when we don’t get along together? I feel like nobody is that “weird”—only if we step out of our comfort zones, literally branch out and hang out.

As you can see, a stereotypical Asian wouldn’t say those things in front of you guys, but I am!

There’s always an exception to the stereotypes.

Thank you.