My Cousin, Part I

So I discovered my little cousin on Facebook and I read some of his notes, and they are amazing. I wanted to post them (with his permission, of course) since when I was his age, I was no where near this level of awareness. I'm proud. =)

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Yellow Label, a reflection on individualism.

BRUCE LEE; CONFUCIUS; IRON CHEF; YO-YO MA are the persona that I embody to become that shade of yellow that we all know. Or think we know. Or rather assume to be true. "Asian" is what society labels me, how most people label me, and what I sometimes consider myself to be. Whatever that is...

A stereotype? a culture? an ethnicity?
the terms "asian" or "black" or "white" or "mexican" by themselves are meaningless, but with society, people have added meaning and implication and assumption. and history. However, whatever it comes out to be, it is always a biased view. A view that may not always be right, yet may not always be wrong - because that's the thing with opinion: one's never wrong. (Isn't that what our educators keep emphasizing?) Then what I also ask is this: is one's opinion therefore also never right? Opinion is the result of a subjective topic, and what's more subjective then attempting to place one image on millions of different frames. So we arrive at the solution that so many civil rights activists and stereotype fighters have advocated for so long: end labeling.

So what am I if I am not an implication or an assumption? if I do not study every hour of the day? if I don't eat dumplings and fried rice everyday? if I don't know martial arts? if I do not play piano of violin? if I do not play ping pong continuously? if I'm not frugal with money? what am I if I do not fit like a jig-saw into the stereotype puzzle?

I become an individual.

-peta pong