Mary Yee, age 18
Brooklyn, NY
When I was a little girl I used to live in a very racist neighborhood... it caused me to not know myself. There were a lot of colored people, and seeing that Chinese people lived in a brand new house they were of course jealous in a way, 'cause they lived in the projects. So it caused them to mock us or take what we had by robbing us... I just hid so I wouldn't get picked on, you know? I was scared.
I'm always trying to find who I am, 'cause a chunk of my life I was just like what people thought of me: "Oh you're that Asian girl; you're the quiet one..." I like to keep defining myself until I'm that person that I'm supposed to be... I'm happy to be both Asian and American, 'cause I celebrate both holidays and it's like my tongue is split into two; I have two dialects. And it's nice to live double, sort of two lives.
Darin and I promised no matter what we'll go to senior prom with each other. We made that promise in ninth grade... 'cause we're best friends. I'm excited about my Prom, but right now I still have the stress about doing hair, fixing my makeup, looking the best...
Darin Chin, age 17
New York, NY
My biggest fear is that I won't be able to make my parents proud enough of me...
I think about having a family of my own a lot. Probably, I don't know, three kids and a wife... I think, you know, there's not a family who won't have problems and issues. I think a family should have challenges to better know each other and just learn more about each other.
Sometimes I feel that I don't question enough things around me and I don't challenge the feelings of others. I just go along with it and I like to think that I could maybe become stronger and a deeper person in that way.