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This account contains words that some people may find offensive.

I am half Chinese and half Caucasian. My mother is Chinese and my father is white. However, I actually LOOK like I'm Latina, a Native American or like a Pacific Islander and am mistaken for one of these ethnicities more often than not. My father was in the Air Force and we were stationed overseas. I was 11 when we moved back to the States. When I started attending public school as opposed to DOD schools, I experienced “racism” for the first time.

One day, I came home from school, crying. When my mom asked me what happened, I explained to her that kids were teasing me. At first, they called me a “spic,” but after they found out I was half Chinese, they started calling me a “gook”! My mother said, “The next time someone calls you that, you tell them that gooks are Korean and that YOU are actually a CHINK! If they want to call you names, make sure they at least get it right!”

My mother taught me that there is only power in words if YOU allow it. She taught me that you can't control other people … you can ONLY control yourself and your own actions/reactions. Nowadays, my brothers and I jokingly refer to ourselves as “Chonkys” … half chink and half honky! And, while that may seem like a bad thing to say or to joke about, we don't see it that way. It's “what” we are.

I love when people ask me where I'm from. I don't take a darker interpretation from that question. I take it at face value … I look “mixed” but it's hard to determine exactly “what” the mixture is! Maybe it stems from my own curious nature. Unlike your scenario, it's usually ME asking my Uber driver what THEIR ethnic background is. I've NEVER asked that question so that I can form a judgment about them. I don't ask to offend you. I ask because I'm truly curious!