As of Fall 2016, the Asian population at Stephen F. Austin State University is at 1.3%. If you are one of the 1.3%, you probably have these 16 recurring experiences:
1. You settle for Peking, Nijiya, Student Center sushi, and T Sandwiches when you’re craving Asian food—Panda Express if you’re desperate.
2. You can’t speak your native language fluently and you still struggle to speak English correctly.
3. No, we don’t all look the same.
4. You never know if you should take your shoes off at the door when visiting your friends’ dorms and apartments.
GIPHY from “Asian Bachelorette” by Wong Fu Productions
5. You wake up with a hint of disgrace towards your relatives because you’re not going to a big school to be a nursing major. GO JACKS.
6. Night Market is your favorite event of the year.
7. “Where are you from?” is such an ambiguous question.
8. You’re constantly debating whether you should represent your Asian roots more boldly or try to adapt to American life as much as possible. (Pssst.. be your wonderful self. It’s okay if it’s a mix of both.)
GIPHY from Disney’s “Mulan”
9. You want people to embrace your cultural heritage, but it is oh so irksome when people try to take it as their own and get it wrong.
10. You cherish your long nights out knowing there’d be a curfew back at home.
11. Everybody knows when you’ve been drinking because you look like a tomato after two sips of alcohol.
12. You are almost always the “token Asian.”
GIPHY from Rich Kids of Beverly Hills
13. Independence means you get to lecture yourself for making a C on that midterm.
14. Your heart broke when Tango Mango closed.
15. Seeing another Asian person on campus is confusing for a second. You end up making intense eye contact with them because both of you are trying to remember if you know each other.
16. There’s only a few of us, so meeting each other feels like reuniting with family.