Just went to a VC FilmFest screening in J-Town. I saw a trio of short documentaries that explore Asian American issues. I was so impressed, particularly with Pilgrimage by Tad Nakamura. It tells the story of the Japanese Americans who started the Manzanar Pilgrimage. It’s very well done.

Whenever I used to go to events like this, where Asian Americans are so passionate about bringing forth stories of injustice, I would always feel a sense of detachment. Growing up with very Americanized parents (who take Tango lessons and actually use their dishwasher to wash dishes) in Torrance (Asians everywhere) and then going to college in Irvine (even more Asians everywhere), I never really felt like a minority. And I never thought much about race, because, well, I never really needed to. When my peers would have heated discussions on topics like cultural identity, I would just usually just stare down and pick the lint out of my fingernails. I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve never been hurt by racism. Sure, while living in Arizona, I got a fair share of “Konichiwas” from random drunken white boys at bars, but to me, things like that are more stupid and ridiculous than offensive. Perhaps I’ve just always felt that I’m one of the lucky Asian Americans who somehow dodged this bullet and therefore have had no need to dig back into the issue. Not my turf, not my thing.

But alas, my career path took an interesting turn and I now find myself immersed in the Asian American scene. And I’ve never been more fascinated. The past three months have been a crash course in Korean American studies and, no matter how out of place I may seem, I think I’m doing OK. I’ve interviewed comfort women, transgender people and friends of victims at Virginia Tech. I’ve written stories that might otherwise go untold. Now, I’m starting to get it.

The director of Pilgrimage is a 20-something yonsei, a fourth-generation Japanese American. He might have had an American life similar to my own. And yet he has connected himself to the stories of his ancestors because they are important. Because they bring lessons that new generations can apply today. Because they have shaped him into who he is.

I feel proud to be Asian American. Weird.