*This is my personal response to those who enjoy using this excuse to make us Asians feel bad and our achievements less legitimate. I cannot and am not claiming to represent all Asians in this article.*
I am sick and tired of people dismissing my achievements because ‘I’m Asian’.
No, I should not be flattered that the stereotype that is placed upon me is a ‘positive’ one. It’s not just as simple as calling all Asians ‘smart’. What you are implying, if you use this stereotype, is that we don’t need to put in work or effort to achieve our grades. What you are implying is that you got a lower mark than me not because you did not put in as much effort but because you were ‘competing’ against someone based on their skin color, which immediately indicated that they were inherently intelligent.
I am Chinese, and although I study in a school in Macau, China, where the majority of the students are of Asian ethnicity, I still experience this ignorant phenomenon whereas non-Asians tend to assume quite haughtily that it is because of my ETHNICITY that I do relatively better than they do. Newsflash mate: 9 times out of 10 I simply work harder than you do. It’s hard to swallow, but it’s true. Of course, there will always be pure geniuses that just happen to be of Asian descent but you also must realize that not all Asians are smart. Not all Asians are slow. We are just like any other race.
“A lot of the times, the type of people who like to undermine my achievements based on the region where my ancestors were born from are most likely people who take everything for granted, sleep through classes, don’t study, don’t do homework and end up salty as hell when results come out.”
I do consider myself diligent in my studies. I study hard (during the last few weeks before the exams, let’s be real) and I do my homework. Now, who, exactly, is behind all this? Strict Asian parents! That must be it. Oh, and my Asian genes! Sorry for disappointing you but the truth is, the reason why I consistently do my homework and study hard is because I have parents who know how hard education is to come by.
They have taught me at a young age the sacrifices that their parents have made, that they have made all contributed to my status as a middle-class citizen in Macau. My grandparents were farmers, and because they knew how important and how crucial education was to their children’s futures, they migrated to Macau from the mainland. In my father’s words, they moved “for a better life.”
My parents lived difficult lives in Macau and the most frustrating thing about this is that both my parents were brilliant students. They were both the eldest child in the family and studied hard whilst working in factories to help their family’s financial situation. My father was entirely capable of getting into a top 100 university in the world and my mother wanted to study abroad in America. However, sadly, due to financial reasons, they had to settle in a local university. Nevertheless they still established better prospects than the generation before them, who sacrificed everything for them to simply have a better life.
However, in comparison to Asians living abroad, my family’s situation may be seen as relatively better. First-generation immigrant Asians, as minorities and People of Color, are subjected to discrimination in a foreign country and have no choice to do cheap labor. They sacrifice so much just so their children, and their children’s children will be able to have a better education, a better chance, a better life.
This sacrifice is a drive for many Asian students. This is the main reason why Asian parents are so ‘strict’. They gave up so many of life’s pleasures to give us opportunities that they never had. I am aware of their sacrifices. I am aware of what they gave up for me to have an education.
And I’m sorry, but a lot of the times, the type of people who like to undermine my achievements based on the region where my ancestors were born from are most likely people who take everything for granted, sleep through classes, don’t study, don’t do homework and end up salty as hell when results come out. My advice: Have some respect for yourself, and maybe if you actually worked hard enough, you would feel ‘Asian’ too.
