A friend and I are talking about what it would be like if I got dreads. I tell him there’s no way my parents would let me have them. In response he says, “They’d probably be glad you’re finally doing something black!” How the hell is some South Asian kid going to tell me what it is to be black? It’s not the first time someone had the gall to presume they knew more about my race than me just because I’m not down with the latest rap music and get good grades, either.

