Immigrant

Whenever I tell someone that I am an immigrant, a lot of people would automatically assume I immigrated from China and start looking at me as more stereotypically Chinese than I really am. They try to fit me into the box of the shy, demure Asian girl cliche and assume things about my personality or upbringing. When in reality, I was born and raised in South America in a country called Suriname. I am proud of being raised in that culture as much as I am of being Chinese; both make up a huge part of who I am. It saddens me when it’s not represented, and I am fitted into a singular box that doesn’t really describe who I am. Doing Project Visible brings me joy as it allows me to explore and depict memorable settings from my childhood.