The bleak cloudy Tuesday became unmatched for my fidgetting in school. My face exhibited the manifestation of boredom as the teacher taught elementary algebra to 12-year-olds. My mind was on a different story, however. All I could think about was Wizard101. Magic, talking animals, mythical creatures, monsters, floating worlds, and so much more. This MMORPG fueled my love for mythology.
The number of mythological references in Wizard101 was astronomical. Whether it’s Greek, Roman, Norse, Japanese, or Chinese, all of these myths seemed to be a fun reality to my creative mind. My 12-year-old body wouldn’t have known what a satyr or a triton or an oni was without this game.
Does the creature have a human body and a horse bottom? That’s a centaur.
Is the monster a large slithering that lives in the depths? That’s a leviathan.
What is that cute three-headed dog named? That’s Cerberus, the guard dog of the underworld!
These myths and references ignited the curiosity that my pre-pubescent body yearned for throughout middle school. It was not the maths or the social studies that got me passionate about learning, but the personal connection to my own curiosity. Although I stopped playing Wizard101 upon entering high school, my curiosity didn’t. I continued to follow the path, and utilize my curiosity to explore my passions and interests that allow me to grow as an individual.
Tabs of Wikipedia pages still filled my monitor on almost every myth imaginable. Every link on a page leads to a new discovery for me to learn. There was this one blue-tinted link that caught my attention more than any other link during my mythology phase. The link redirected to a page called Model Minority. As a first-gen Vietnamese American, I was unfamiliar with this term. I had the fortunate ability to research more on this idea and realize that it is a myth just like the cyclops and the seraphs. But unlike those, the model minority myth is real.
I was assumed to be a smart Asian who was exceptional at math by my classmates. However, these are racial stereotypes that placed a high expectation on my personal worth. In addition, the model minority myth places a strong expectation on Asian Americans to be diligent in their future without adhering to current social calls or deteriorating mental health. This meant that I must put little concern into my mental and emotional being while being complicit with the problems of my community.
Mythology allowed me to interweave creativity with rigidness in order to serve me mentally as I grow academically in my field. Upon entering Rice, I will ensure that the model minority myth becomes obsolete. I will not be complicit in the mental problems of mine and my peers. I hope to create an outlook that pursues a creative passion in order to help the mental health of my peers. As the model minority myth dies beneath me, the white-winged healing bird, Caladrius will live through me.
