Hey look I wrote a poem about being Chinese what

I was born in Canada, raised in Californ-i-a.
I took pride in being Chinadian,
although after my fifth birthday I was MIA.
I hated America because it hated me.
But I loved America out of hypocrisy.

I used to say Chinese like it was some kind of
disease.
Chinese used to mean
high expectations, exotic objects, weird smells and
bad driving.

Then one semester, thanks to
the Multi-Cultural Center
I thought, why do I hate who I am?
So now I'm learning:
to stop society from oppressing me.
To stop blaming my mom for oppressing me.
And to stop letting myself oppress myself.

So I'm learning and
I'm learning.
Now being Chinese,
always being Chinese,
means my mom wants me to try my best.
It means the food tastes like home, sweet, home, I confess.
It means yes, I am learning a different way
to love my parents and
myself.
I am now as proud to be Chinese
as I am to be
all the me's.