“One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn’t belong. Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish my song?” – Big Bird, Sesame Street
The creators of Sesame Street have been instilling in us an eye for picking out the oddball. By Big Bird’s command, we were obliged to identify differences, and identify them quickly, while we were still in diapers. We were tested on disparities in shape, size, color, number, and object. And what was our reward? Nothing. We were merely left with the self-admiration that came with recognizing the oddball before the music stopped and our time expired. But is Sesame Street teaching our youngsters a valuable trait? Is the ability to detect the thing that has yet to conform a necessity? It seems that Sesame Street teaches children the skill of identifying differences amongst things and people, which could lead them to conclude that being different is bad. They may develop a negative perception of things that look usual. But we must embrace what is different and not be made uncomfortable by it. We should aim to preserve that which is different instead of throwing it out.
As a mixed-breed of Asian ethnicities, I have experience feeling like “one of these things that just doesn’t belong” when I dance hula. This native Hawaiian art form has been my passion for the past fifteen years. I love using my hands, feet, and expressions to tell a story about the beautiful places, astounding events, and influential people of this isolated archipelago. Yet I am the outsider, a foreigner, a haole. Standing next to my hula sisters, I cannot help but compare my long, straight hair with their wavy locks. I cannot help but notice that my eyes turn into crescent moons on the surface of my face when I smile, while theirs remain whole and round. But I move just as gracefully as they move, I am as good a dancer as they are, and I love hula just as much as they do. The only difference: I lack Hawaiian blood and the traits that come with it. I am physically different. I am an outsider.
Amongst the other girls, I would be the object Big Bird would identify as the oddball – the one that Big Bird would point to at the end of the song and announce as the discrepancy amongst the rest. Yet, despite the uncomfortable feeling this revelation sometimes causes, I decided to stick with hula. I decided that I cannot be intimidated by my physical differences, and I cannot abandon my passion. Dancing hula is part of my identity. In that world I am unique, not just the “cookie-cutter” Asian girl (academically inclined, sweet, soft-spoken, respectful of her culture, etc.). When I dance hula, I am a foreigner amongst the natives, but I am proud.
In situations where we are uncomfortable being seen as the outsider, we must hold strong to the idea that this is, instead, an opportunity to preserve the things about us that make us unique. That is, we must ignore intimidation. This blog is for those of us who are unique, who are outsiders, and who are proud of being us.
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