Stereotypes

Stereotypes are everywhere in the world. Being an Asian teenager and attending one of the most prestigious high schools in the country, I have been labeled with some of these stereotypes. One of the most common ones is that all Asians are smart. While this may seem like a flattering and admirable stereotype, the way it is being used by teens puts a very negative label on the way Asians are viewed in the world today.

It is true that Asians have historically had revolutionary ideas about science, society, education, technology, and just life in general that have contributed significantly to their uniquely advanced ways of life. But summing all of that up with a generalization such as "all Asians are smart" means that all of the efforts and work of these Asian people are lost in the shadows. Simply stating race and genetics as the reason for Asian advancement hides the fact that Asian people have actually worked very hard and pondered very deeply to get to their level of sophisticated thinking and development.

In America, where many Asian immigrants now populate schools and learn among actual American children, many Asian students have worked their way up to the top academic levels in schools. Many people use the stereotype that all Asians are smart as an explanation for this. But these Asian children didn't inherit success from their genes--nobody is born successful. They achieved because they studied, worked hard, and learned to think deeply. Generalizing every Asian student's success with the stereotype that all Asians are just naturally smart makes it seem like they never have to work for anything, that they spin out good grades and success stories from their genetic code.

Like anyone else in the world, Asians have achieved success through hard work and ambition. And though Asians may all have a natural ambition to do whatever it takes to excel and strive for the best, only the ones who are willing to put in the work actually get there. We don't have a secret ingredient in our DNA that ensures natural success or intelligence. Like every other person on the planet, we must be willing to work hard in order to achieve success.

Asian people are not successful because they are Asian. The ones that are intelligent and successful are so because they have worked for it.