Background Check

By Grace Tse

Chinese. Small eyes. Math genius. Piano prodigy. Rice addict. Bad driver. Strict parents. Penny pincher. Students at my old school used to describe me with these words because of my ethnicity. I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I left America.

Going to Hong Kong was the unbeatable solution. My parents grew up there, people spoke Cantonese, there won’t be white people, and I won’t be a loser anymore.

Wrong.

First day of Junior year rolled in two weeks after the big move. My parents were extraordinary people, Jason and Fiona Wang. Both graduated from the University of Hong Kong, nominated as employee of the year multiple times in their firms, and role models to newbie accountants.

Standing before me was Shin Yang High School. Upon entering, the bell rang. Students were flooding the halls and hurrying to their next class. It was a sea of white, blue, and red uniforms. People were pushing and scrambling by me.

Arriving at room 207, my first class. I walked in and scanned the room. Boys and girls were chattering with their friends and I made my way to the last empty seat. It was in the middle of the class, where everyone noticed.

“You’re new,” someone said near me. I turned towards the voice and met the gaze of a boy wearing glasses. “Where are you from,” he asked in perfect Cantonese. I was about to say something back, but was cut off. “She’s obviously a foreigner; you can tell from her makeup,” came from my left. I recognized this girl. I saw her in the halls going to class. “I’m from America,” responding in Cantonese.

They laughed.

“Are you even Chinese? You sound like one of those pointy-noses mocking our language,” said the girl. I was astonished! Did my new classmates just make fun of me? But I was Chinese! I was one of them!

Before I could say anything back, class began. The teacher was Mrs.Chen, she began writing on the whiteboard with the words My History Project. “I know the school year has just begun, but I want this assignment finished by next week,” she announced. It was a presentation about our family’s background.

My family had a strange background. Both my parents were born in Hong Kong, but were raised in Brazil. They grew up without the Chinese culture that most of these kids had and then moved back to Hong Kong for post secondary. After school, they moved to America, married, and had me.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. My life did not change in the way I thought it would. I still got made fun of and was still perceived as an outsider. The only difference was that it was Chinese students doing this.

Mom was already home when I got back. I told her everything with tears rolling down my cheeks.

“It was horrible,” I wepted. “People said I didn’t belong, my makeup was bad, and that my Cantonese sounded like a foreigner attempting to learn the language,” I continued. She held me tighter. “It’s okay, no matter what anyone says, you’re still my special girl,” she whispered.

After getting a hold of myself, my parents started to help with my project. I heard stories about my family that surprised me. My great grandfather was a part of the First Sino-Japanese War. He was a commander for the army and was once captured by the Japanese. The only reason why my grandpa and dad were here today was because a servant of the Japanese army secretly released him. That same servant was my great grandmother.

The more my parents spoke, the more fascinated I was: possessing Japanese characteristics, Brazilian background, and Chinese ethnicity. I used to hate myself for being who I was in America. I still hated myself in Hong Kong, but then realized I shouldn’t be. I was unique and special. Different I may be, but so was everyone else.

The first day of presentations approached and volunteers were called forth. I was first. Everyone looked at each other for my volunteerism. I then began my story, from the time of my great grandfather, to my parents growing up in Brazil, and then to my past life in America. Some points of the presentation I was angry, tears wanted to escape, and there were also moments when I felt jubilant.

Everyone applauded. I glanced at everyone and they all looked flush. I didn’t know if they felt sorry for me or if they thought my history was a tall tale, but I felt good. In fact, I felt great. For the first time in a really long time, I felt appreciative of the entirety of my identity.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Grace is currently a grade 12 student. When she’s not crying over school, drinking bubble tea, or watching her siblings, you can catch her binge watching shows on Netflix, taking power-naps in the library, or window shopping for things she can’t afford. One day, Grace wishes to travel around the world and collect a snowglobe from every destination for her snowglobe collection.

RELATION TO THEME - FAMILY

My short story connects to this volume’s theme, family, because when one feels alone or is in need of help, their family will always be available for them to reach out to. My story focuses on the life of an American born Chinese girl who face difficulty in terms of accepting who she is. Throughout her journey of self acceptance, she is surrounded by love and support from her parents and with their help, she comes to appreciate who she is in the end.