From the hairs on my head,

To the very tips of my toes,

I am analyzed.

 

From the almond eyes,

To my body’s outline,

I am analyzed.

 

This society is so concerned about image,

What they see,

What you see,

TV Shows, Movies, Stereotype physicalities,

They all influence you,

Set your mind on a image associated with some type of label or category

People feel like they know you

By simply looking at you.

 

We are all victims of that influence,

Stalked by eyes,

Watching,

Looking, but not truly seeing.

Judged.

 

From the way I laugh to the way I talk,

My quirks, my gestures, my walk,

How I hold myself up,

It is all judged.

 

These judgements are made based on my physicality,

Thrown, and spit out at me.

These judgements, people, and eyes

They continually follow me.

 

And this is what they say

 

“You can do better.”

“This is not enough. That is too much.”

“Asians understand everything naturally.”

 

Does this culture define me?

By looking at my eyes, my skin, my hair,

Do you know me?

Can the Asian ethnicity be truly defined by mere stereotypes and social media inquiries?

 

“You don’t eat enough.”

“You don’t love your body.”

“Skinny girls don’t have to worry about a thing.”

 

I do worry, every day actually

But I love my body,

It’s outline, it’s movements, it’s everything.

Does the body that you see, really tell you about me?

 

Let me tell you about me, something that your eyes can't see.

 

My body is mine, and can only be felt and experienced by me,

It cannot be defined by someone else’s eyes alone.

My culture and ethnicity are mine, and are what I make them to be,

Not what is defined by stereotypes and TV imagery.

 

I define who I am.

Not TV shows, movies, or stereotype physicalities.

Not some image associated with some type of label or category.

Me.

I define me,

I am my own definition.

 

I am Lesliejane,

Seventeen,

Well, and breathing.

I am stubborn, outspoken, and at times naive.

 

The things one’s eyes can see,

Do NOT define me.

They may be a PART of me,

But are NOT what makes me.

 

Asian and skinny may be what you see when you look at me,

 

But ask yourself, next time you look,

Do you really know me by what you see?