"The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story. "
——— Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I visited the US for the first time in 2015. It is when I started my undergraduate study in New York. Although full of uncertainty, I was thrilled about the new life. There were all sorts of things I need to adapt to, not only culture-wise but also something else.
Locals might never experience this for their whole life, but as a foreigner, you can feel it all the time. When you are making reservations, joining a new community, ordering food, people consciously or unconsciously make assumptions simply based on your name and your appearance. At first, I was both anxious and confused. I didn’t know if I should study and get a good grade, or it would make me too “Asian”. When a tutor asked me what were my thoughts on Asian students, I wasn’t sure if he expected me to give the answer I heard over and over that we were skilled but lack of creativity.
Your certain identity, like nationality, sex, sexual orientation could become tags on you. And when you are in a community that not very familiar with your “tag”, the characteristics of the tag are emphasized. Actually, I don’t think these tags are good for nothing. As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said, they are not untrue, but incomplete. In some aspects, tags help us to better understand each other, to respect differences, but eventually, we untag because we want to treat people as an individual.
The sad thing is that we are not born with inherited prejudice. When we were little, we were so open-minded and curious about the world, and we accept things as what they are. But now, we have to learn to eliminate prejudice and stereotype. How did we lose the ability？
Besides, there is one more thing I learned. There is nothing wrong with where I am from or my background. On the contrary, it greatly supports who I am as a human being. Especially as a designer, I feel thankful for those experiences that shaped me. So be confident with your culture and identities. There is no need to act like someone else.
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