to the young asian girl
who is struggling with how
to process your pain right now

i want to tell you that it’s okay
that the anger or hurt you may feel
is valid and that you deserve
to be acknowledged and seen.

to the young Asian girl
who wants to speak up
but finds that your voice
gets lodged in your throat,
and you feel as though
you can’t breathe.

i am sorry.
i am sorry for the pain you are in right now
and i know that you hate crying
but it’s okay if you have to.

crying will not make you weak
and you will not be playing
into that sick stereotype of a
submissive asian woman.

so allow yourself to feel,
to scream,
to rant.
allow yourself to heal
because you deserve it.

to the young asian girl
who feels fetishized
and sexualized,

you are human.
you serve to feel safe in your own skin

and I’m sorry that that sense of security was stolen from you
but know that you can take it back
because you are stronger
than what you may think
right now.

to the young asian girl
who feels ignored,
who feels like people
won’t listen to your warnings
or protests unless
someone gets hurt or ends up
murdered,

your voice matters,
it always has and always will
and people will eventually
be forced to listen to what you
have to say
so do not silence yourself
for the comfort of others.

to the young asian girl
who knows that this type of violence
isn’t new,

who knows the history of yellow peril,
the model minority myth,
the chinese exclusion act,
and the countless other times
asian bodies have been brutalized
and beaten throughout history

please stay strong.
it may feel like you want to give up,
that people will forever choose to
stay ignorant
but in that case,
please put yourself first.

It is not your job
to educate others on
your pain or your history.

you are not a resource.
you are a human being and deserve
to be treated as such.

to the young asian girl
who feels exhausted,
and drained,
and can’t help but feel like,
you’re drowning
in the news of the daily
hate crimes you see online,

it is okay to unplug.
to log off.
to return to yourself
and find peace with your loved ones.

to the young asian girl
writing this poem
as a form of healing
and processing,

know that you are loved.
that you are appreciated.
that you are not a model minority.
or a scapegoat.
or a fetish.

know that feeling pain doesn’t make
you weak.
know that you are allowed to rest
and heal for however long you need.

Natalie Nong is a Youth Fellow at AAAM (Asian American Alliance of Marin) and an incoming freshman at San Jose State where she will be majoring in Animation/Illustration. She creates artwork and writes poetry that explores and discusses her identity as a Vietnamese-American woman. Her goal as an artist is to create a more positive and inclusive representation of Vietnamese perspectives through storytelling.