Growing up,I've always heard

Growing up,
I've always heard adults say:
 
"Everyone's beautiful."
"Just be yourself."
"You're perfect just the way you are."
 
And other cliches phrases used to develop a sense of integrity that they "so kindly blessed" me with.
But I've reached the age of 16,
Still young and still unwise,
And even I can see that it's bullshit.
 
I'm stuck in a facade of pretending that I'm alright with being a fraud,
And the thought of revealing my true self has become sickening.
 
Society says a girl should stay in the kitchen,
I say, if we're talking about stereotypes,
That I should mention I'm Asian,
And I'm not afraid to karate chop a windpipe.
 
The kids at my school snicker and jeer at the girl on the bench sitting alone,
Just because she's different and not a clone;
Not another person who accessorizes with lies used to glamorize who he or she is;
Lies used to terrorize someone else just because they're unique.
 
In my home,
Anyone with grades lower than an A is put on display for the entire family to criticize.
Anyone who dresses in dark clothes and listens to rock definitely utilizes drugs.
Anyone who expresses  their opinion against an adult is a cretin beyond repair.
Anyone in a relationship during education is a beacon of disappointment bound to teenage pregnancy.
Anyone trying to be their own person is living the life of a fool.
 

I am not the stereotypical girl. 

I am not delicate and weak.

I am not an easy slut.

I am not just some freak.

I am not a nazi feminist.

I am not a black belt in kung fu.

I am not a a terrorist.

I am not like "every other women."

I am not what society says I am. 

I am not a chink.

 
I am NOT all these things that I, a female Asian American, am stereotyped to be.
What I am is an equal craving to be free of these damn people trying to say what makes me, me.  
 

I am Cambodian, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, and American.

I am an active athlete.

I am in a stable relationship going on two years.

I am agnostic.

I am a support of the LGBT community.

I am a musician. 

I am a fan of metal and hardcore genres.

I am a proud feminist.

I am proud to be different.

I am what I say I am.

 

 
Society is a trick and many have fallen for it's games.
It is a loaded rifle that aims to bring down the rising youth.
It is a lie that barricades the truth of who we all are.
It is the conscience of the low self-esteemed people we were raised to be.
 
That is them. This is me.

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