Growing up in an immigrant household, my first language was not english, but rather my parents native language of vietnamese. And as i grew up, and went to school, i needed to learn english.  Growing up in a vietnamese house in the middle of a very caucasian neighboorhood made me constantly feel like th e”odd one out” in my community. I was one of 3 vietnamese people in my grade all throughout elementary school (with the other two being my cousins). Everyone around me presuming i was chinese, or making fun of the shape of my eyes made me desire to assimilate, to become more like them.  I was put in ESL classes from 1st to 4th grade, even though my english was fluent by the time i reached 2nd grade. Even my teacher for ESL was confused by why i was in the class after the first year, but it took them 3 to fully accept that I was fluent in english despite my papers saying that my primary language was vietnamese. As i spent more time at school and less time at home, I eventually lost my vietnamese. When I got into high school, it felt as if i had finally detached myself from my home, despite it being the place i’d go back to every night. Nobody viewed how i looked to be a factor of my attitude, because i made sure my impression would overpower any preconceived notions they might have about me.