inspiration

so where did i come up with the idea for "bananas and saltines"? oh, boy, this should be a fun little tale.

i guess i could be considered a first-generation korean-american, although i'm not full-blooded. my mother was born in seoul, my father, in virginia. my parents met while my dad was stationed in korea, and i guess the rest is history, complete with the fighting and divorce and non-child-support and such.

when i was a kid, i was always the "weird kid". i wasn't like everyone else. i didn't care about pop music - i would rather listen to the beatles or elvis. i didn't care about clothes, or makeup, or boys. i wasn't a "normal" american kid. i got made fun of. a lot. not only was i not a normal american kid, but i wasn't a normal asian kid, either. i wasn't stick-thin. my hair wasn't flat, stick-straight, and black. i was a chubby girl with long, wavy brown hair. i was definitely a weirdo.

it never really occurred to me why i got made fun of so much until i got older. i came to terms with it. i know i just might be being a little too dramatic here, but really. getting made fun of when you're young, every damn day, is fairly traumatic. i would't change it for the world, though. since i got made fun of so much, that made me who i am. and what am i? i'm a chubby young asian woman with shoulder-length hair that usually doesn't stay the same color for long. i'm proud of my heritage, and i'm proud of myself. so take that.

thanks to vicki nam, who edited the book "YELL-oh girls", a collection of short stories, essays, and poetry about growing up asian american.

oh, and jina's name? yeah, that's my name, only romanized. because i can't type korean characters on my stupid american computer. here's what it looks like, though:

i'm so proud that i actually have my korean name tattooed on me.

prologue
bananas and saltines index