Whiteness is sitting on the bus at the age of six, on your way to kindergarten, and being called “that weird chink kid” from a fifth grader sitting in the back. It’s the collective stares that all the kids give you, the American kids who come from big, loving homes full of families who speak…
A Response to Varsity Blues
I scroll through my Facebook newsfeed, but my thumb stops moving across the screen when I see it: an FBI investigation about admissions fraud at Yale University. The “Yale Memes for Special Snowflake Teens” page fills with memes on photoshopping students into athletic photos and paying $400,000 for admission. Friends, former teachers, and classmates share…
‘One Day at a Time’ is in Danger of Cancellation—Here’s Why it Shouldn’t Be
The living-room set of One Day at a Time might tempt you to think of it as a traditional sitcom (a la Friends), but the complex conversations the show embarks are quick to dissuade that thought. Consider the opening scene of Season 3, Episode 2, “Outside”: Elena, the lesbian daughter in a second-generation Cuban family,…
Morning Coffee
My father rises before the sun. My mother rises before them both. He stumbles into the bathroom, and she marches into the kitchen. A large bowl of oatmeal and black coffee greet him at the kitchen table. He asks for brown sugar. She refuses. Sugar levels were too high last week. Peach skin flakes fall…
Lower Your Gaze
Typically, when men stare at her, she begins to worry. At five foot two and 120 pounds, she recognizes how often her body is read as a threat — notably brown skin, almond-colored eyes framed with thick lashes, and a black hijab carefully draped in place. By looking at her, most people can predict that…