Stereotyping

Before anyone says anything, don't worry, I'll only be stereotyping about myself... mainly. So I was trying to look busy today and I was thinking about the house situation my family is currently in. (Long story) Anyway, it made me think about stereotyping and how it has affected me. First off, I am asian, and some of you may recognize the following stereotypes:

How to be a Perfect Asian Kid
(from the first generation perspective)
1. Score a perfect 1600 on the SAT.
2. Play the violin or piano on the level of a concert performer.
3. Apply to and be accepted by 27 colleges.
4. Go to an Ivy League university and win enough scholarship money to pay for it.
5. Have four hobbies: studying, studying, violin/piano, and studying.
6. Love classical music and detest talking on the telephone.
7. Become a Westinghouse, Presidential and eventually a Rhodes Scholar.
8. Aspire to be a brain surgeon.
9. Marry an Asian-American doctor and have perfect, successful children (grandkids for ah-ma and ah-ba!).
10. Love to hear stories about your parents' childhood...especially the one about walking 20 miles to school without shoes.

More of these from here.

Let's see how many of these I fit into.

1. I did not score a perfect 1600 on the SATs.
2. I did play a musical instrument, but not the piano or the violin, and did not play very well.
3. I was not accepted into 27 schools (I only applied to FIVE)
4. I did not go to an Ivy League University
5. My hobbies include going to the movies, listening to music, ice hockey, and video games.
6. I talk on the phone a lot with my girlfriend (who is not asian - another no no, apparently). I have never listened to classical music for fun.
7. I am none of those scholars.
8. I do not aspire to be a brain surgeon.
9. See #6, I really don't see this happening.
10. I do not like hearing all those stories over and over again.

From the looks of things, I'm as imperfect as they come. I'm not saying that I'm doing terribly for myself, in fact, I'm pretty happy with the way things have turned out. I just personally don't like all of the comparisons, and expectations that I have to endure. I know that it's all supposed to make me a better person, but I think that it placed a lot of stress in my life, and that has hindered me. I know that sometimes I've done things just to go against what my parents say, and I don't agree with their controlling attitude some times.

I know that reading these things can be pretty comical, and I have to say that I do give a chuckle each time I read a list like this online somewhere. What makes them so funny is that most of the time they are true! Anyway, I'm not trying to make anyone sound bad, and I do love my parents, so I can deal with it. What do you guys think about this? I know that there are some of you guys out there who can relate!


Edit: If that video up there wasn't funny enough for you (This one is a little long, but its worth it, I think):