Dear Asian Girl,

Let me tell you a story 

She was young, at first

Young and proud, at first.

Roots nurtured by her ancestors,

she would lie on the ground

to soak up their wisdom.

Short, stubby branches reached out 

to touch their souls

and she would feel the life 

that once danced on this sacred land.

She would taste the golden nectar of her language

from the seeds her mother planted.

Her pride: the sunlight that fed,

her stories: the sweet water that nurtured,

her traditions: the soil—a structure of all things beautiful. 

But soon, her branches grew, 

grew into the unknown,

And she went into the world 

in search of greener pastures,

But instead she found dying roots.  

                                                      

Savage—they called her

Chink, Paki, Dink, Gook, Raghead.

They claimed she stung with her thorns

But they didn’t know her thorns were her beauty

And they tainted her sunlight, until the fire burned her insides

Casted a dry spell until it robbed her of her water

Stole her fruit,

Snapped her branches, 

Colonized her soil.

Until her songs became only a faint memory on her lips

And her stories, stayed forgotten dreams

But Dear Asian Girl,

Do not forget where you came from.

Lie on the ground again and 

turn back the clock.

Revisit your mother’s kitchen,

fill the air with notes of sour and sweet, 

And feel prickles of spice soothe your throat

And Dear Asian Girl, 

you know you’re home. 

Like that of a child,

let your people’s lullaby sing you to sleep,

Harmonize to a chorus so sweet

That you can taste the wonders on your tongue

Because Dear Asian Girl,

We sing our tunes in different tongues

Different swirls and different drums

beat the same beat, 

Our hearts still beat the same beat

And together, Asian girl, we create our own harmony- 

A battle cry so loud, 

you can hear it in your chest when you breathe

and smell the burning fire when you scream  

Look around you, 

see how far we’ve come?

Well dear Asian girl, 

we’ve only just begun.

Stephanie:

“Stephanie Hu is a 16 year old Chinese American living in Southern California. She is the founder of Dear Asian Youth, an organization that works to empower Asians from across the world. She wrote this piece to celebrate the incredible strength Asian women possess, especially during trying times like this." 

Tesoro High School | instagram: @stephaniee.hu & @dearasiangirl