![](\"http:\/\/wylamschool.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/extracurricular-activities.jpg\")
<\/p>\nYou know what always confused me?<\/p>\n
When growing up in the Bay Area, everyone was pretttty much expected to do everything. Ask the average student and they’ll tell you about the countless extracurricular activities they’re part of. That’s basically the culture we surrounded ourselves with. Sometimes it went too far, and those who felt they couldn’t keep up felt like total failures. Others simply grew bitter. Basically, academics was highly important (and competitive), but on top of that we were all “expected” to do more. Much more.<\/p>\n
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See the picture above? You got the arts, sports, music, religion, academics, everything. So naturally, every kid in my class basically attempted, and excelled in most of these fields. What’s funny is the arts are completely necessary up until you get into college and then its game over. It’s almost as if we all paint this picture of trying to be well-rounded yet half the things we attempt never are true goals. I can recall the countless hours I spent, either in orchestra or on my own perfecting the art of violin yet there was a sense of irony. I knew I would never go into the path of being a musician or pursue any kind of professional musical career yet I still put so much focus on it. I guess part of that is attributed to the desire to be well-rounded, and quite frankly, I did get to learn more about my musical side.<\/p>\n
At the same time, I spent a good portion of my life in DECA, a high school business organization that focused on career development. Often I skipped school to attend meetings in order to plan larger events for all our 4,500 members across California.<\/p>\n
What i’m trying to say is this. For both business AND music, I put equal amounts of effort. However, only ONE remained as a solid option for my future. Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n The refusal to accept art as a solid career could attribute to the reason why so many Asian Americans today are underrepresented in media. Some may say we are unfairly prejudiced against, and I think there’s a great amount of validity in that statement. I’m also saying that it could be because many of us are not eagerly stepping into these paths ourselves. It goes both ways, and this is a very difficult problem that needs to be eventually solved. Either we have to create a demand for more representation, or we have to supply it ourselves. All I can say is, we simply need to improve in both fields. Though it won’t be easy, standing up for ourselves is becoming more and more necessary.<\/p>\n Below is a video released by famous Korean-American rapper, Dumbfoundead. Always a great artist, he released a song that targeted the way Asians are currently being perceived by the rest of society, and what we can do in the future to foster change. Listen!<\/p>\n