Stereotype at Its Worst

Alice in facing her problem

Monica: Alice, finally I'm free! At least from the burden of making the personal statements. Now, I'm available if we want to talk for awhile. How are you doing?

Alice: Well, hmmm... I'm glad that we can actually talk now. I've been busy too trying to solve some minor problems here in Wonderland. I'm happy for you though that you have finished writing your personal statements.

Monica: What's wrong? You know you can always count on me if you need any help.

Alice: It's just.... too much for me to be the "hero" here in Wonderland. It's as if everyone depends on me and always see me as the "Alice" that will solve all of their problems, that will free them from the evil ones, and overall will make their life better. I'm just too tired, Monica. Deep inside, I still have that childlike heart which sometimes feel so scared to lie, to break the rules, or even to slay and kill a person or a creature. I want to tell them that I'm not always the kind of person they thought of me. For them, I may be seen as the hero, the savior, the courage girl, but actually I'm not. Anyway, I'm sorry that I let you hear my nonsenses. I hope you can understand what I've been going through.

Monica: Oh, Alice, it's totally fine. "A friend in need is a friend indeed" right? I think you should tell them how you really feel about your difficulties in being stereotyped as a hero. If they really are your friends, they'll understand and support whatever your decision is. You'll then know who your real friends are. Actually, I've been through similar situation too. Some people, including my parents, due to our Asian culture, always expect me to have high grades and high GPA. For example, for this quarter, I told them that I think I can't maintain my 4.0 GPA because some classes that I take this quarter become more difficult and it's just hard to get A+ on some exams. I thought that they'll understand me for my situation, but instead, they don't. They even asked me to study harder and at least try my best to maintain a 4.0 GPA.

Alice: Wow... Really? That must've been hard for you

Monica: Well, at first, I got so annoyed at them for not understanding my situation. But, soon I realized the positive side that maybe it's for my own good too. By maintaining a good GPA, the chance of me getting into a good university will be higher, and also I can get the required knowledge for my future. But, I think the worst part of my experience with stereotype is when I was teased by the local Indonesian men because I am a Chinese-Indonesian. Sometimes, when I was walking by the streets, they would call me with names that are Chinese-related and which I think is quite insulting and inappropriate. This is why, I feel that this discrimination within cultures need to be stopped or at least anyone should do something to this problem.

Alice: Wow, I'm really sorry for what happened to you. I now know that I should be grateful that my friends in Wonderland at least love me for who I am because we're all uniquely different!

Monica: Yes, I think you should, Alice. Well, I hope that your friends in Wonderland will understand on what you've been going through and just remember this quote, "friends pick us up when we fall down, and if they can't pick us up, they lie down and listen for a while".

Alice: Thank you so much, Monica. I'm glad I can actually find you and call you one of my best friends. Cheers to a friendship for many years to go!