How can I represent others through an abstract work?<\/h4>\n
<\/p>\n
Introduction:<\/h4>\n
For this unit, I created an essay and two design projects based off of what it is like to be a part of a marginalized community. I chose an Asian-American person, and interviewed my peer who identifies as such. I learned more about empathizing with others and what it means to be a part of a community other than my own.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lyrical Essay:<\/h4>\n
“The math teacher calls time for the test. You take out your sheet, you studied for hours the night before. The curly haired guy next to you nudges you, <\/span><\/p>\n
Can I copy? <\/span><\/p>\n
He hasn\u2019t ever said a word to you before this. Tom? Todd? You nod, go ahead. The next day the teacher hands back the test. 85. Nice. The guy next to you, he asks you<\/span><\/p>\n
85, really? I thought you were supposed to be Asian.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Years ago you looked out the window from your desk. Your mom told you to go study, go to Harvard, go to Stanford, go to Yale. Get a good job, be a doctor, be a lawyer, be an engineer. The other kids played outside. You wondered why you couldn\u2019t too. Today you\u2019re at your desk again. Studying, <\/span><\/p>\n
studying, <\/span><\/p>\n
studying, <\/span><\/p>\n
studying. <\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The words buzzing like bees in your brain<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Your heart<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Your lungs<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The other kids are going to whatever college they want. Some aren’t going at all. Why can\u2019t I be like them? You will spend the next 4 years getting perfect grades behind your desk to get to the perfect school to get a good job. Why wouldn\u2019t you want that?<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You sit down for lunch. Your friends are loudly joking, you overhear the words: small eyes, math, meek. Hey, guys, you know I\u2019m half-Asian, right? <\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
One says sorry, I didn\u2019t know. The other says hey, come on, it\u2019s not that bad, it\u2019s good to be good at math. What about all the other things they said? They say it\u2019s ok, it\u2019s not anything bad, they say. At least they\u2019re not calling people like you criminals or drug dealers. How is it ok to reduce people like you down to a couple of stereotypes? They\u2019re not necessarily bad things to be, is that it? What happens when you can\u2019t live up to the stereotypes, when you can\u2019t be good enough to be the perfect Asian person? Who are you then?<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Your green eyes, brown hair, and white skin let you blend in. Every day you go to school and you look just like your friends. When they visit your house they see what\u2019s inside. They see the chopsticks, the dumplings in the pot, the noodles on the counter, your grandmother hustling around the kitchen, the smell of ginger. Sometimes they say I had no idea you were Asian! That\u2019s crazy! You don\u2019t ask why.<\/span><\/p>\n
Sometimes they say, oh, I could totally tell you were Asian. You ask why. Oh it\u2019s because of your eyes, you know? You don\u2019t ask why any more. It doesn\u2019t always stop everyone from sharing. <\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Your grandmother is making dumplings. She puts a spoonful of seasoned meat into the pale wrapper, pleating it 18 times for luck. She puts them into the bamboo steamer and closes the pot. When they\u2019re ready, she serves them to you. You take your chopsticks and lift one to your mouth, looking at the white exterior. You open your mouth and chew, tasting the unmistakable notes of nutmeg and sesame. The water chestnuts dance across your tongue \u2013 it\u2019s an ingredient your grandmother never forgets. <\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At school the principal says ASB has organized a lunar New Year event. You think about ASB. Isn\u2019t there only one Chinese person in it? The principal encourages everyone to participate. At lunch, they are selling dumplings. You decide to pick one up. These are folded in half like potstickers, but boiled. They have ketchup to serve with them. When you bite into this one, the flavor is very Korean. It seems they\u2019ve made mandu. You wish they would just leave your culture alone if they can\u2019t be bothered to get it right. <\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Your mom tells you about how when she was a kid she studied hard to get a good job so she could have you in America. She says she wants you to work as hard as she did, harder than she did, so you can get into a good school. You wish you wanted to be able to. <\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You sit down in the cafeteria. With one hand, you open your textbook, with the other you open your lunchbox. <\/span><\/p>\n
You don\u2019t understand<\/span><\/p>\n
You don\u2019t understand<\/span><\/p>\n
You don\u2019t understand<\/span><\/p>\n
You don\u2019t understand<\/span><\/p>\n
You don\u2019t understand<\/span><\/p>\n
You don\u2019t understand<\/span><\/p>\n
You don\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n
You close your lunchbox.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I chose to create a diptych based off of my lyrical essay, which represented a person struggling with their identity as a Chinese-American, and how the pressures associated with that identity lead to a cataclysmic questioning that may haunt a person. I chose two quotes from the interview I based the essay on, \u201cYou don\u2019t get it, you\u2019re not Asian\u201d, and \u201cI feel more accepted when people ignore that I\u2019m Asian\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n
I chose this photo to exemplify the acceptance my subject wants to feel, while also showing the rejection they can feel at times. I tried to take photographs of people who were either looking melancholy or happy; I felt like the couple, in their matching clothes, showed this. They looked happy together, and seemed to be having a good time. I chose to make it seem like they are having somewhat of a conversation using my two chosen quotes. One could be saying that the other does not understand them, and the other may be interpreted to be saying that it is sometimes better that way. <\/span><\/p>\n
I used Adobe Photoshop to edit the photograph, and used a black and white filter to change it to black and white. I used gradient mapping to add the yellows back into their clothes, and add their skin tone back in. I wanted them to look warm at a glance from the yellow, but I added hints of blue in the gradient map to represent the sadness they feel at a deeper level. The two people are both saying a quote, each in a slightly different font, but both still match. I warped the text to fit as well as I could inside their bodies, as their thoughts can consume them at times. <\/span><\/p>\n
![\"Two](\"http:\/\/www.freestyleacademy.rocks\/~JuliaT\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/JuliaT_Citizen_Final.jpg\")