The Snotty Nose Kid

Born in Long Beach California, I was raised in a pretty typical Asian American home. My parents had immigrated to America during their teenage and college years. My father was a radio technician for his entire life. My mother moved amongst several careers, partially due to the manifestation of two young children into her life. Now, she is in the real estate business.

Growing up, I was a very soft spoken child. It was very typical for Asian children not to speak out against their parents for fear of the belt or physical disciplinary action. I had never heard of getting grounded until I got to school or saw it in movies. “How bad could staying indoors be? Not having to go out?” The thought perplexed me. Who wouldn't want some peace and quiet? My childhood was pretty good for the most part. A large portion was spent with my family. We went on road trips quite often together. I remember going to the snowy mountains of Colorado, the caverns of New Mexico, and the tumultuous waters of the Niagara Falls.

I never thought much of not doing sports. My parents put me in piano lessons (naturally), violin, figure skating, drawing, gymnastics, math, and writing lessons. Thinking back, I realized that they actually did want me to grow up to be a well-rounded individual. At the time, I never really appreciated my parents exposing me to all these different classes. Little did I know, they would shape a huge part of my personality in the future.

On top of it all, I grew up with a chronic sinus infection. I always had a runny nose and was dribbling all the time. This nasal annoyance not only bothered me, but everyone around me. When I tried speaking up, I would always sound nasaly and was an audible mumbling. Even my parents had a hard time understanding the words I tried so hard to get out of my mouth. After so many failed attempts at voicing myself, I slowly recluded more and more. Why try something over and over again only to fail repeatedly. This was another huge factor that magnified my introversion.