Apology to myself- Laura Boller

I wrote this piece for a creative writing class. I really wanted to dive into exploring and explaining my identity as a half Korean American adoptee who was born in Minnesota. I was adopted trans-racially by my White parents when I was just a few months old. I was bullied for a good part of my childhood and into my teenage years. I felt like I was never Asian enough to the Asian kids and never White enough to my White classmates. I struggled with my identity while growing up and wanted to White pass. It wasn’t until I was 18 years old that I started exploring my Korean identity and when I was 22 years old I went to South Korea for the first time. This poem is an apology to my younger self who didn’t love themselves and didn’t want to be different. I now celebrate and embrace my Korean identity with pride.