Being called "Twinkie" or "Banana" in my family is a big deal because, well, not too many of us have been privileged enough to receive higher education. To them I'm yellow/brown in a white person's body.

I'm a daughter of an immigrant and a local Hawaiian and where I was raised most kids spit out their own kids by the time they were in high school. I grew up speaking Pidgin English and raised on "local" (a mixture of Filipino, Japanese, and Hawaiian ideals in my family) values, and as I attended HS, I was still "local", but the way I spoke, ate, carried myself...EVERYTHING! became different. I couldn't speak the languages I was raised with even though I could still understand it, but it was evident that I was becoming more accustomed with the things my family wasn't used to.

I am very familiar with my roots and am proud of what I have accomplished without ever forgetting where I'm from...so when they give me isht (and they still do) and tease me for sounding like a "white person", I don't feel bad when I snap back and say, "I have a fcuking degree and I'm still making more money than you do..." and I don't feel bad. My mama and daddy wanted more for me than 892374928374 kids and a big house (that's the measure of success where I'm from), and I'm glad that they dreamed for bigger and better things for me and that I took advantage of that.

But that's just me.