Taj Taher 1

Essay 1 Why Asia?

When filling out applications, I always resent the question Which race or ethnicity do
you identify with? because my options are invariably limited to Asian or Other. I only
consider the latter because of my disillusionment with the former, but Other only seems
appropriate for animals, aliens, or inanimate objects.
Which leaves me with the simple Asian.
Asian though I am, the term hardly seems to do me justice. It ignores the rich, cultural
history of my ancestral Bangladesh and lumps it in with the myriad nations, languages, and
peoples of a vast continent. Thus, my indignation at these applications arises from what I
perceive to be an attempt to homogenize and marginalize a vital part of my identity.
Yet, I find myself just as culpable of this cultural insensitivity as whoever wrote the
question originally. For in my indignation at being considered merely Asian, I emphasize my
own uniqueness at the expense of all other Asians. To draw attention on just myself is to cast
cultures other than my own in shadow. Am I not then just as guilty of marginalization as the
application?
What is more, this blindness belies a great ignorance in myself. For if I were to try to
explain why Asian is an inadequate identifier, my reasoning would be minimal indeed; I would
only be able to talk about my own heritage, but not speak to the customs and cultures of anyone
else. Without an understanding, appreciation, and ability to articulate the wealth of Asian
diversity, we will all simply remain Asian in the eyes of the application. My own ignorance
would allow the ignorance of others to continue flourishing.
What PiA represents to me, then, is the opportunity to immerse myself in these cultures
of Asia to understand not why I alone am special and unique, but what makes all of its people so.
I wish to rid myself of not just a superficial ignorance regarding what it means to literally be
Thai or Japanese or so on, but to cleanse myself of the cynical resentment when checking off that
Asian box. My intention in pursuing this fellowship is to empower the identities of myself and
those I would soon hope to call friends I do not seek to draw distinctions for the purpose of
division, but rather to establish respect for the collective Asian identity.
The wrong I perceived in all those applications may have been their disregard of my
identity, but that truly hurt because it betrayed their much deeper deficiency in cultural respect.
My mission in Asia then is to learn and acknowledge, yes, but even more so to celebrate. Only
through celebrating our differences can cultural respect be forged. By living as they do, by
speaking, eating, and breathing together, I intend to return with the ability to make the check on

Taj Taher 2
that box a mark of pride, a statement identifying myself as a single coin in the vault of wealth
emblazoned Asian.