Best Poems Written by Jay Ojano

Asian Stereotype

A pair of monolid eyes, and I’m academically enlightened.
As if I’m some talented prodigy on his way to an Ivy League.
Able to quickly solve problems without ever breaking a sweat.
Absolutely - perfect - in every single subject I decide to take on.
Always an A+, an automated Asian-American achiever android
As an unwilling recipient of a C in Algebra 2, I really disagree.

Before you chant “Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your cow!”,
Consider the billions of Asians who are never working in STEM.
Division homework I can handle, algebraic functions, not so much.
Even with A’s in Geometry last year, my EOC score was only a two.
For every decent grade I earn, is a test I end up completely bombing.
Good student, yes. But “perfect student?” Not in this lifetime, I am. 

The worst feeling in the world is falling so far behind these expectations.
Often, it seems like I’m sinking in an ocean of questions left unanswered.
The water filling up my lungs is all the pressure I have to endure each day.
The air I’m losing more and more of is the confusion and frustration I face.
It’s all too much to bear; not living up to this idea of what I’m supposed to be.
Sometimes, I wish I was one of those geeky cliches, non-Asians think of us as.

So no, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth,
and Penn are not camping outside my door with a full-ride in their hands.
I don’t know how to graph cubic or polynomial functions to save my life.
Complex solutions and complicated rational functions have accurate names.
And shoutout to Chemistry, where my mathematical issues have extended to.
I still don’t get what those equations have to do with elements and formulas.

Truthfully, I’m just not the model minority stereotype people think I am. 
I have many strengths and lots of weaknesses, just like everyone else.
I’m not special. I’m hardly the greatest mind this school has ever seen.
Am I thrilled about it? Heck no. If only I was good at Math and Science.
But what’s the use in lamenting? All I can do to change that is to improve.
Inside, I know I’m very smart. Not perfect at all. But still smart nonetheless.
Years from now, I’ll realize that, even with all my flaws, I am good enough.
And no matter how much I fit into a stereotype, the truth is all that matters

Copyright © Jay Ojano | Year Posted 2017