Cantaloupe

If there's one specific thing I can remember from my early elementary school days and pre-school days, it was being picked on and teased a lot.
There's this boy I've known since pre-school and I would see him on a daily basis for 13 years until we went off to college. I remember I was standing behind Katie at vacation bible school. The boy wedges himself between me and Katie and says, "Move cantaloupe head! I wanna stand next to Katie!" To this day, I like to wear my hair in my face to try and conceal the roundness of my face.
I am also scarred by boys on the playground putting their fingers on the corners of their eyes and pulling them back and calling me Japanese or Chinese. This is another reason why I like to wear my hair in my eyes.
I hate being Asian. I don't feel Asian. I don't even consider myself Asian. Only the most shallow aspects of me are Asian.
It took me 13 years to finally become somewhat comfortable with the fact that I am unique in the way I look here. This was quickly ruined by a boy in my senior year of high school who told me to my face, "I'd rather date a mediocre looking white girl than a really attractive Asian girl." Thanks a lot asshole for making me feel ugly every time I look in the mirror and realize that there is one thing that I truly cannot change.
I can make people forget that I'm Asian. I can make people forget that I'm short. I can even make people forget that I'm a girl. But the fact of the matter is, I am Asian, I am short, and I am a girl, and no matter how much I hate all of it, I can't change it. So I try to embrace it. I poke fun at myself. I laugh at myself. I hope people will laugh with me, because then maybe it's not so bad.