Bex Lo
"The first time I 'saw myself' was in this book series called Camp Confidential in 3rd grade. As an Asian girl, a lot of people in my school had pigeonholed me into the nerdy Asian stereotype, especially since I worked really hard because of my parents' and my own expectations. I started playing sports in Kindergarten. I was really into it. Often times, the boys would never pass to me because I was a girl and the nerdy Asian. Back to the main point, I was an avid reader in 3rd grade. I tore through several book series, and my librarian suggested I read this camp series. One of the characters I immediately identified with was Alex Kim. It was the first time I've read a book with an Asian girl name. I actually remember running to tell my mom when I got home from school. Alex Kim was an academic perfectionist, but at camp she was the soccer star. She never let any of the guys' comments stop her from proving herself an equal or even better athlete. My dad used to tell me that I could be better than the guys on my team, but of course that comes from your parents so you tend to discredit them a bit. Seeing this character in this book who was so fierce despite everyone telling her she couldn't be who she was because of a stereotype was inspiring. I didn't realize back then what kind of impact that would have on me. Even now, as I'm writing this, I'm realizing that it's stuck with me through all these years. I've even told my sister when she was younger to read it, and when she did, she told me that a certain character sounded just like me!"
