The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan in Color
Monday, February 18, 2018— 3A
Photo courtesy of the author
When I was little, I used
to be one of those girls who
wished that they I were white.
My
parents
immigrated
to
the States in the 90s, having
previously
lived
under
Communist rule in China. That
being said, I never had the type
of mom who would help out in
the classroom or know how to
bake cookies, and I was never a
“daddy’s girl.” I had to learn a
lot of things on my own, and it
wasn’t easy.
Because I had strict parents
that asked about every detail
about my daily life, I did the
same thing in first grade to my
peers as an attempt to befriend
them. I end up coming off as
nosy and annoying. No one
had ever taught me that privacy
and personal space were things
people in this country valued.
I spent a large portion of my
childhood
practicing
piano
and getting tutored in math;
I felt like I was missing out on
the all-American experience.
It would just be so much easier
if I were white, I kept telling
myself. I wouldn’t have to deal
with this shit.
I had to learn on my own
to be proud of my Chinese-
American identity. All of my
life, I associated being Asian
with having strict parents and
playing piano and studying
math (all things I actually did,
so I really hated that I fit the
stereotype) — but as I grew up,
I realized there was so much
more than just that.
My
identity
revolves
around feminism, punk rock,
bisexuality;
my
identity
revolves
around
being
unapologetic and audacious,
contrary to the submissive quiet
girl most people assumed me
to be. When I first tentatively
came out as bisexual at age
14, I remember overhearing
someone
saying,
“Bisexual?
She’s Asian though…” as if
people of color couldn’t also
be queer. I was tired of people
saying things like, “Oh, you’re
into rock? I would’ve never
expected it-- you just don’t look
like the rebellious type.” What
the fuck is that supposed to
mean, anyway?
So,
all
throughout
high
school I tried to “look” like
the rebellious type. I started
dressing in black and wearing
Doc Martens with fishnets
and ripped jeans, smudging
my eyeliner in a don’t-fuck-
with-me way and dying my
hair green. I was trying to
prove myself; I was trying to
say, “No, I’m not your average
nice Asian girl.” I gave my
parents an especially hard
time growing up. Often times,
I would go to extreme lengths
just for a taste of freedom--
sneaking out to meet boys,
hiding cigarette packs in my
underwear drawer. Granted,
half because these were things
I actually wanted, but the
other half was just because I
just wanted to prove a point;
that I could be a badass.
You might have seen some
girls who wrap a piece of cloth
around their heads. The cloth
(called hijab or tudung or
kerudung) covers some parts
of their bodies – hair, ears and
sometimes neck. One might
wonder what else they keep
beneath the cloth (spoiler
alert: hair ties). During the
colder
months,
the
cloth
might be mistaken as a winter
headgear. During the warmer
months, you might wonder if
it ever gets too bothersome
to put on extra layers when it
is scorching outside. But that
cloth is not just some article
of headwear that Muslim girls
put on their heads as a ritual
of faith. A lot of thought goes
into this element of a girl’s
outfit. Below are five answers
to your questions about the
headscarf that you are likely
afraid to ask:
1. The headscarf is made to
stay on the head using pins.
Much like a marathon runner
pinning on a race bib, the girl
uses several pins to make
sure her headscarf does not
slide to the back or front of
the head throughout the day.
To prevent sliding, some girls
opt for a bonnet-
like
cloth
underneath the
main headscarf
which
creates
friction between
her hair and the
cloth.
2. There are
many
ways
to
style
the
headscarf. Some
girls wrap the
cloth
around
their
heads.
Some
tie
the
cloth. Some slip on the cloth
like a snood. Special styles
are
reserved
for
special
occasions. Each girl has her
own
signature
style
that
frames her face the best or is
the easiest to put on for late
mornings.
3. There is such a thing as a
“bad headscarf day.” Prevent
from
genuinely
giving
constructive fashion criticism
to the girl when you notice
her headscarf is “unusually
distorted.”
She
probably
has
spent
20
minutes
(15
minutes
longer
than
she’s
hoped
for) trying to
fix the uneven
bumps of the
cloth.
4
.
T
h
e
headscarf can
be
made
of
many different
m a t e r i a l s
–
cotton,
jersey,
silk,
chiffon. Each girl has her
own material preference for
its pros and cons. Cotton
scarves use less pins to create
volume but do not look flowy.
Chiffon scarves are flowy
and elegant but lay flat on
the head. Certain occasions
warrant a different material
than normal days in order
to distinguish a look from
an everyday one. For the
comfiest
headwear
during
long haul flights, just use a
hoodie – no pins needed.
5.
Contrary
to
popular
assumption,
there
is
no
weapon under the scarf. Girls
braid or tie their hair into a
ponytail or a hair bun to keep
the hair from sticking out
through the scarf. Some put
on hair ‘scrunchies’ to create
a
more
voluminous
look.
Perhaps the most ridiculous
thing a girl can ‘hide’ under
her scarf is half of a pair of
socks.
6. Hopefully these answers
give you enough insights to
understand that donning a
headscarf is not solely the
question of to do or to not
do, but also a matter of what
material, what color, what
style and which pins. The
headscarf comes with its own
wonders, quirks and oddities
just like any other type of
clothing.
I can be both: Reconciling with all
aspects of Chinese-American identity
Ms. Carabao Answers to questions you’re
afraid to ask about headscarves
ALIA MELIKI
MiC Columnist
I am American.
But deep down I feel and know,
I’m not American enough.
They say that
Because of my looks,
And
Because of my culture,
I am an outsider.
According to them,
I must know I’m different.
Even though I was born in
America,
I’m always made sure that I’m
aware of my own differences.
But
I thank my grandparents
everyday.
Because of my life now,
They know they achieved the
American Dream.
Because they gave me the
opportunities they didn’t have,
I think of my grandparents
constantly.
But sometimes I’m confused
and
Lost.
I’m even a foreigner in my
“home” country, and I feel
Out-of-place.
They make sure that I know I’m
Not a pure-blood.
Though I look like them, they
say I’m
“Too much like an American.”
My thoughts and the way I
speak show
I’m white-washed.
I question if
I’m not Korean enough.
But deep down, I feel and I
know,
I am Korean.
Captured between
two cultures
KAYLEAH SON
MiC Columnist
She is Miss Philippines and she wears our flag. She
works hard and grows rice. She is proudly Filipino
and her name is Ms. Carabao.
“A lot of thought
goes into this
element of a girl’s
outfit.”
ANGIE ZHANG
MiC Columnist
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
The art of journaling: A means of self-exploration for all
Yeah, yeah, so you’ve heard
it before. Journaling is a
good way to relieve stress,
compartmentalize things you
have to do and does great
things for your mind overall.
How many times have you
been told to journal to relieve
stress or to pick it up as a
hobby? I cannot remember
how many times I had been
told before I actually started.
I picked out a cute little
journal over the summer with
the intention of starting to
journal when school started
in August. However, I didn’t
start and wasn’t planning on
starting anytime soon until
someone posted a “30-day
Journaling
Challenge”
on
their Instagram story.
So starting the month of
December, I started doing a
journal every day, following
along with the challenge.
I slowly started to realize
that those people who had
told
me
that
journaling was
a great way to
de-stress were
right. Every day,
when I would
whip
out
my
journal to start
writing, I would
get this wave of
calmness wash
over me and it
became a habit.
I became proud
of
journaling
and
writing
my
thoughts
down.
It
was
not
something
that
seemed
cheesy or that
only people in movies would
do. Journaling helped me
express who I am as a person.
I explored my identity
through
writing
about
different things in my life
and different experiences I
had every day.
My
journaling
began
with
the
“30-day
J o u r n a l i n g
Challenge” that
challenged me
to write small
blurbs
about
questions such
as
“What
are
three
words
that you love?”
to
“What
are
three
things
that
you
admire
about
yourself?” After
this challenge, I
started writing
small bits every
day, whether it was about a
person I had met that day or
what I missed about home.
Slowly but surely, I started
writing about my identity
such as how it felt to be an
out-of-state student in a sea
of Michganders or about how
I dealt with being a POC in
a school that was more than
50% Caucasian. These small
writing sessions every day
not only helped me relax, but
it helped me hash out small
bits and pieces of my identity
that I have been building
upon since I was a toddler.
And
the
phrase
“don’t
knock it till you’ve tried
it”
really
does
apply
to
journaling.
There
are
so
many
different
types
of
journaling. There are free-
writes, where you can write
anything that comes to your
mind or that you want to
write about. There are the
journal challenges that give
you pre-written prompts to
write about every day. There
is
also
something
called
bullet-journaling which, to
me, seems like the top tier of
journaling. Bullet-journaling
is a very organized way of
keeping
track
of
anything
and everything
that you want
to write down
in an orderly
manner.
There is no
accurate
way
to
journal.
J o u r n a l i n g
has been seen,
stereotypically,
as
a
hobby
that
many
girls
usually
do.
However,
journaling is for
E V E R Y O N E .
There is nothing
e x t r e m e l y
feminine
or
masculine
about planning out your day
or writing your thoughts
down. Journaling is a great
way to start your day, have a
break in the middle or end
your day with a destresser.
Start
small.
Maybe
start
writing
down
little thoughts
or
doodles
t h r o u g h o u t
the
day
on
small scraps or
sheets of paper.
Give it a try
and it may lead
to
something
bigger.
You
might discover
that journaling
is a great way to
organize
your
busy weeks full
of classes and
club meetings
or
to
keep
track of your good and bad
days in a year.
RAHIMA JAMAL
MiC Blogger
“I became proud
of journaling
and writing my
thoughts down.”
“There is nothing
extremely
feminine or
masculine about
planning out your
day”
Illustration by Jhoanne Castro