This art piece is basically talking about dreams and reality, the world the genders have come to, and what the community wants to see. I want fortune. As a genderqueer, I demand it. But I am only 15, so I need to have a small voice or I will be too “mean”. There is only a few people who have had a voice in the community. But, I was raised to have a small voice. So I found it better to write my voice. This is my voice, right before your eyes.
For this month’s theme of “More than one”, I wanted to create a piece that expresses my personal experience with being mixed-race, Japanese and African-American. It features a portrait of my father and I during a Japanese holiday called “Shichi-go-san” which takes place in the Fall, with a gradient of Autumn leaves falling in the background. The levels and transitional shades in the gradient symbolizes how mixed-race people shouldn’t be put into limiting, harmful boxes and labeled as one or the other, but instead be acknowledged as both, or “More than one.”
Growing up, the number of Chinese kids at my school could be counted on one hand. I knew I was different, but I yearned so badly to conform. I refused to learn Chinese writing, I brought exclusively “American” food for lunch, and I never ever spoke a word of Mandarin in front of my elementary classmates. It wasn’t until my family moved to where we are now, where the Asian population accounts for a quarter of my school’s population, did I learn to accept and celebrate my family’s culture. My new friends were actually interested in Chinese culture, shared parts of their own culture, and helped me realize that being Chinese-American was nothing to be ashamed of. There have also been many Chinese and Asian community leaders that I met throughout my community involvement, showcasing that the stereotypically “meek” race is capable of being strong leaders. As a leader on multiple fronts myself, their work is very inspiring. The result of these experiences is that, I have grown an air of confidence in proclaiming that I am a Chinese-American girl. This year, at my senior prom, I will don a traditional Chinese qipao, which I have portrayed myself wearing in my painting. Girls before me inspired me to obtain the traditional garb, and hopefully, my dress this year will inspire other young girls to flaunt their own traditions in the future. The Asian community has pushed me to be unapologetically Chinese, with the security of an entire community behind me. And so unlike Mulan, when I look into the mirror, I know exactly who that girl staring back at me is; an unwavering Chinese-American who is proud to be “more than one”.
I created this poem because there are so many labels and everyone is constantly labeling each other. I want people to know that even though people can can label them, they don’t have to be that label. I believe everyone can change like myself. Growing up people always labeled me as a bad person, getting in trouble and failing in school. Now I am a much better person, staying out of trouble and getting “A’s” and “B’s” in school.
My submission relates to the required criteria because I start with a simple drum beat and add more to make it sound like a whole song/riff and then I have captions that say just like adding more than one sound to make a beat completely different. You can be more than one friend, son/daughter, or somebody that helps others in need to make them feel like they are more than one.
In this submission, I wanted to show how I can be more than one especially if it involves my race. I’m Mexican-American and have always been torn apart by both nationalities and I wanted to express how it impacts me and how I feel about it.
My entry is about students at my school and the diversity that we have. We are all different and we are proud of it. We are “more than one” but we are still together and we support each other.
This is a song that I wrote that shares the hope that I have in Jesus Christ. I share my state of mind before accepting Him, the hopelessness I felt. Then I share my life change and the peace and hope Christ made for me in my life.
I feel like society has changed a lot of time. Many don’t feel comfortable in their own skin and they don’t express themselves. I hope this project helps others understand that it is ok to be who you are and feel comfortable for what they stand for.