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The Power of Representation

And what it taught me about my role in society.

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The Power of Representation

Now that school is now over, one could say that I have officially reached a peak stage of boredom. I finally got a Netflix subscription and one show a lot of my friends were talking about was Never Have I Ever. I gave it a watch, and while I have criticisms of my own, that isn't the point of my opinion piece.

Very rarely are Asians, let alone South Asians given non-stereotypical, genuine roles in Western media, and when we were given roles in the past, some were catastrophic to say the least. Whiteness in main roles was simply seen as a norm/ideal before. It was almost a given that in the majority of the media I consumed that the lead role or talk show host was going to be white, and then probably male. It was so normal almost to the point where I didn't even realize that representation and my story was missing from mainstream media. However, now there are more and more people on screen that I can relate to (Crazy Rich Asians, NHIE, Patriot Act, etc.) While these stories still aren't representative of most/all of the Asian/South Asian population, it is definitely a start.

There is a specific line in Never Have I Ever that implies that Indians/Asians and other underrepresented minorities are worthy and deserving of love (shocking, right?) But that statement stuck with me. With the mixture of all-white movies and TV shows and the initially enforced culture of arranged marriages, this was not something that occurred to me, especially as a young girl. As a child, and sometimes even now, I thought that love and a lot of other things that made life worth living was reserved for white people, and the immigrant hustle implied to keep your head down, do your work, and not make any noise. The slow increase of diversity in media has made me realize that this mentality is wrong and restricting. Others may see that the increase of telling these stories is simply a nice addition, but for me, it was more. I was now able to hear advice from people who share a similar experience I do as a first generation Indian American. I could now laugh at jokes about chai instead of only the Catholic church. I was temporarily distracted from my minority status in the United States. But despite my minority status, it showed me how to own who I am, and not simply blame others for insecurities. Be proud of my brown identity, and not ashamed for its inherent colorful confidence. These feelings are a small step in a wonderful direction, but as a forever-changing nation, we must do better.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Adulting

6 Unrealistic Expectations Society Has For Young Adults

Don't let the thesaurus-inspired vocabularies in our résumés fool you. We're actually just big kids.

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Well over four feet tall and 100 pounds in weight, many of us "young adults" of the world still consider ourselves children. Big, working, college-attending, beer-drinking children. We may live on our own, know how to cook noodles, and occasionally use a planner, but don't be fooled; the youthful tendencies that reside within us still make their way into our daily lives. From choosing to stay up until 3:00 a.m. playing video games on a school night to going out in 30 degree weather without a coat, we still make decisions that our parents and grandparents would shake their heads at in disappointment. So why are we expected to know exactly how to be a wise, professional, sensible adult? It's not that we're irresponsible (for the most part, anyway). It's that we are young, inexperienced, and still have the sought-after, enthusiastic mentality that we can do and be whatever we want, which has not yet been tarnished by the reality of the world. These are just a few of the unrealistic expectations that society has for young adults.

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1. You don't have to feel guilty about flirting with customers for tips (or just for shits and giggles).

2. You can be obnoxiously flirtatious with anyone you want. You are free to be that girl that flirts with everybody and makes 'em all smile (it's especially fun when the guy is as cute as Collin Jost). No shame.

3. Making random men nervous with your superior beauty and intense eye contact just for the hell of it is really amusing and empowering.

4. No one gives two poops if ya legs are hairy (your man shouldn't either but *Kermit the Frog meme* That's none of my business)

5. The toilet seat will remain down.

6. There's more money to spend on yourself.

7. There's always this secret butterfly in your tummy that marvels at the possibility that when you go out this weekend you're gonna meet someone super handsome/wonderful/prince-like and have this moment of dazzling dalliance.

8. Nothing is that serious...you can take it all with a grain of salt...you don't owe anybody anything.

9. You can dance with anyone and everyone...or no one (Hello frat boi w/ glasses, I see you).

10. You don't have to fluff anyone's ego but your own.

11. Free drinks and dinners from single guys (It's not taking advantage if they're offering; a girl's gotta eat).

12. You have more time to learn how to love and improve yourself rather than constantly pouring your energy into another person.

13. You don't have to sacrifice your cheesy Jen Aniston rom-coms and Gilmore Girls for his Fast and Furious/other dumb action movie featuring blonde that is only in the movie to supply a relationship to the male lead and to make him look more masculine/empowered in juxtaposition (In other words, you don't have to deal with a guy being a crabby Patty while you watch your cute movies).

14. You can daydream about what your future husband may be doing right now (and not get stressed/guilty out because you're not picturing your current boyfriend that's crazy about you as your future husband).

15. There is more time to be spent with your girlfriends.

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Each sign is determined by the relative positions of celestial bodies to ourselves at our moment of birth, which is said to influence our personalities. Find your zodiac GIF below, based on the traits and characteristics provided by each sign.

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