Book of Randomness

Autobiography Poem

So in school we have to write an autobiography poem. There were three different options, or types of poems, to choose from, and I chose to do the type called 'I Am Who I Am'. The structure and whole base of the poem, the idea of the poem, is to go against stereotypes about you. Here is my poem.

Just because I'm a girl
Doesn't mean I'm not athletic or smart
Doesn't mean I'm weak
Doesn't mean I'm less than you

Just because I'm Japanese
Doesn't mean I'm your enemy
Doesn't mean I don't have feelings
Doesn't mean I'm any different than you

Just because I smile and laugh
Doesn't mean I don't cry
Doesn't mean my life is great
Doesn't mean I don't have struggles of my own

Just because I'm a girl
Do you ever feel alone?
Do you ever feel empty inside, like no one will ever love you?
You are beautiful and amazing, and you are perfectly, wonderfully, you.

My teacher said "This one is the hardest one. It really causes you to dig deep. Sadly, it wasn't too hard for me. These three things I wrote about are just some of the stereotypes I deal with. People think lesser of me because I'm a girl. Even though I am very athletic and smart, because I'm a girl, people automatically think I'm not.  I get treated as lesser than in school sometimes, even though I'm not.

My great grandparents were born and raised in Japan. I don't look super Asian, but I definitely look a little Asian, mainly my eyes. One time, this kid in my class came up to me and said, "What are you doing here? You aren't good. You're Japanese. You are the enemy." Not joking. I was in third grade. I came home that day sobbing. Another time, I was in second grade, and these kids came up to me and said, "Go home, Jap." For those who don't know, 'Jap' was a term used in World War II time. It is a really awful name for a Japanese person. It is sort of like 'Mudblood' from Harry Potter. It is an awful name, and when you use it, you are basically saying 'Japanese people are the worst, they mean nothing, they are inferior to everyone else."

In my school, in my grade, I am known for always laughing, always smiling, always bright and cheery. People always seem to think my life is perfect and wonderful. Yes, many people have it worse than I do. And I definitely know that I do have a good life. But, because of a few reasons, including the first two reasons, my life kinda goes downhill. And then there are my parents, who have this idea that I have to be perfect, that I have to be a mini version of them. They have very high expectations for me, and sometimes I just can't meet them, and then they get upset. I play softball, 6 days a week, with a practice on each day, and two on Thursday. And then I also have my stacks of work that I bring home from school, and then I have to finish it, which makes my sleep time slowly fade down to about 3 hours a night, especially because every day, softball starts at 6:00 and ends at 8:30, except for Sundays, when I don't finish practice until 9:15, and I don't get home until way later, and then I have to shower, and then finish my work. And then there is the expectation that I have to be perfect because I am the oldest. I am the oldest sister, and the oldest cousin on both sides, in dad's side I'm oldest of 10, on mom's side I'm oldest of 7, and I have to be a perfect role model, and if I do one thing wrong, if I make just one tiny mistake, I get in trouble for 'not setting a good example'. My life is stressful at school, and then I come home to my brother sitting on the couch playing on the computer who doesn't lift a finger to help, and then I have to clean the whole house by myself because we have to clean or our parents will be mad. So yeah, my life's not in any way perfect.

Sorry for making you read all that. I have to admit, it kinda felt good to get it out there, to get it off my chest. Again, sorry for my long talk. Thanks for reading! I hope you liked my poem!