Being a "double minority" I think about race a lot. I grew up in Washington DC where Asians only account for a small percentage of the city's population. Growing up I often thought to myself "life would be easier if I were white". Being in AOL chat rooms as a young boy didn't help either (remember AOL? - the good ole days of dial up and hoping nobody would pick up the phone while you were online). I would constantly get private messages saying "sorry I'm not into Asian guys". Its surprises me how quick others are to label you and define you based on that label. Fortunately Asian stereotypes in the US are generally positive ones. I'm supposedly smart, good at math, and play the violin (I played the viola - close enough). These stereotypes are exactly what I hope to escape when I moved to San Francisco in 2003. While Asians only make up 4% of the entire US population San Francisco is currently about 33% Asian. That statistic is one of many reasons moving to San Francisco was one of the best decisions of my life. Even though being Asian doesn't define who I am as a person what it feel likes to be in Asian in the city that I'm living in truly does matter. The people of San Francisco are constantly exposed to Asian people and it's culture. This exposure helps to break down stereotypes and people get to know who are you as a person without all these preconceived notions in their head (well more likely to do so anyway). All it takes is meeting that one Asian guy who isn't good at algebra.
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