I was born right here in New York City, and yet, I speak the language fluently, and even read and write a little Chinese. I also keep some Chinese customs.Naturally, I speak English fluently, and read and write extremely well. I am independent and out-spoken, like many other Americans. According to my parents and some of my Chinese friends, I act more American than Chinese.To some of my Hispanic friends, however, I'm a "chink," and to my some of my Chinese friends, I'm an "ABC" (American Born Chinese). To some of my Caucasian fiends, I'm just Asian.I am not embarrassed about my nationality. Truthfully, I am kind of proud of my "exotic" looks. I like my midnight black hair (with natural red highlights in the summer) and my dark brown eyes. I do not want to bleach or dye my hair or put on colored contacts. I don't think it's my looks that make a difference, but my attitude. My attitude, I think, is a mix of cultures because I have the best of both cultures! With the best of these two cultures, I have my own special culture. This is what makes me uniquely me!Yet, people still put me in different categories, and some of these categories even oppose each other! Sometimes I feel like a half-breed. I'm not really a part of the Chinese group because I am too independent and out-spoken. I am not part of the American group either because I know Chinese and I keep Chinese customs. It is not that I'm being closed out of either group, it is just that I don't feel like I totally belong. Sometimes, I do not feel like I totally belong with my "ABC" friends either because we all are at different levels of Americanization. All this goes right back to identity and wanting to belong. I am not going to be a hypocrite and say that I want to be different from everyone else and not