I barely open my door before I hear the high pitched squeal of a red puppet on the television. “Welcome to Elmo’s world!” the program begins as I walk through the door, exhausted from a long soccer practice. I turn to see my younger brother shouting and clapping, thrilled at the red puppet on the screen. The sounds are overwhelming but such cacophony is common in my home. It’s been this way for eleven years, since my brother...

The most difficult question I have to answer is one that the average individual can express without thinking. The words, “Where are you from?” send a rush of anxiety through my body. Should I answer the United States? I am a citizen of the august nation, but lived there for just four years. Should I answer China? I grew up in Shanghai, and speak Mandarin fluently. But I resided there always a foreigner; never able to fully break through the...