Today, I went to see the school counselor to schedule my classes for school. She asked me if I knew how to speak English. My parents are Chinese and I don't even know how to speak Chinese. I've lived in America my whole life. Plus, I even spoke to her in English to ask about classes. FML
Collection
Fall
Dead leaves, the first cold of the season and an umbrella flipped inside out: fall, the season of grace.
Today, the parent of a student called to ask me about a homework assignment. At the end of the call, she told me that I seem to be losing my "Asian accent" from when she first talked to me in the summer. I was born in the US, grew up in NJ and speak perfect English. FML
Today, I was eating at a Chinese restaurant, when I stopped the waitress to tell her that even though I am of Chinese heritage, I can't understand a word of Chinese. After an awkward silence, she told me she was actually speaking English. FML
Today, at a tutoring center, one of the tutors looked at my worksheet and laughed. She then showed all the other tutors my mistakes and they laughed along with her. The best part? They all speak Chinese and they think I can't understand them. I'm Chinese. FML
Today, I had a conference with my dad, my counselor, and my history and English teachers because my dad was "concerned" about my grades in those two classes. We talked for a while and it was going well, then my counselor asked what I wanted to study in college. I said I wanted to be a teacher. He laughed. FML
Today, my parents had a fight as to which one of them is the most cultured. As a result, they've begun writing my chore lists in a variety of languages. If I don't do them, I'm grounded. I only speak English. FML
Today, I found out that my parents don't know the difference between a foreign person and a deaf person. They've been yelling at our exchange student for the past 2 days. FML
Today, my college English teacher told me if I wanted an explanation for my grade I would have to schedule a conference to come to her office. It's an online class. I took an online class because I can't come in. FML
Today, I had a Chinese test. Our teacher decided to wait until yesterday to tell us about it because she "knew" we wouldn't study anyway and she didn't want to stress us out. I'm pretty sure I failed. FML
Today, I found out that I was moving to Germany. I'm going to be put back a year in school because of the system change. I also don't speak a word of German. Why? Because my mother wants to brag about this experience to her friends. FML
Today, my mom hit me in the face after an argument she didn't win. According to her, Mexican and American are languages, and not dialects or nationalities. She even argued with my teachers, and threatened to remove me "from a school full of uneducated people" after they told her I was correct. FML
Feel like sharing it with the other FML users?
Thanks, your FML was submitted, and will appear in the moderation queue soon!
Top comments
RageWolf16 31
I hate the human race sometimes
Alikia96 20
The racism is strong in this one
Add a comment · Reply to
You must be logged in to be able to post comments!
Comments (131)
tuffer 3
maybe your just oversensitive and she is required to.ask.
acerredrum 23
If she is required to ask then that shows there is an issue all the way up in administration. A far easier, and less offensive way than looking at someones skin tone, is to ask, "Hello, how are you doing today?" and if they answer in a language other than English it is safe to assume they do not speak English.
stargirl_95 24
Plus it sounds kind of racist that she would be required to only ask Asians if they can speak English.
Epickitty58 29
Even if she's required to ask students if they can speak English, she can do it in a nicer manner and actually pay attention to the student. If they have spoken to her with no communication problems or have spoken in a language that is obviously not English, then I think that student knows how to speak English. Either way, it's still pretty racist, but the one way it could be worse is if she lengthened her words to help you understand what she is saying. That right there is the definition of a racist bitch.
ksks1234 33
Or just say, "we have to fill out a demographic form. What languages do you speak?"
Knightchaser27 25
Doesn't she have access to OP's academic record,if she went to school in America she probably had to take an English class at some point
chinaski7628 32
In my district, in each student's permanent file, is listed the primary languages parents speak at home as well as each student's level of English proficiency (even if English is listed as the primary home language). Most schools and districts have this kind of data readily available on each student and a guidance counselor would definitely have access to these kind of test scores and information. Unless he or she misread or misunderstood something, I can't imagine why the guidance counselor would even need to ask that, excepting, of course, being an ignorant asshole.
PenguinBitch 44
Hello? Were you even listening to me? Oh you said something ? Sorry, I don't speak Chinese.
blackonblight 33
Was she looking at a list and not paying attention to you? It could be a stupid required question. But otherwise, snark time. Bust out the advanced vocabulary as you inform her of your linguistic capabilities.
alixsander 2
Life sucks…
kaytasha 18
Smh! Some people though are totally in a bubble of their own with all their misconceptions.
Flared 9
Wave your hands around and ask her if she speaks english
mermaidsfart 4
Sometimes i feel ashamed to live in this planet. Smh
Liiiiiiiiike 15
Does really surprise me. Because mostly everyone especially YouTube commenters are ignorant. I feel your pain tho. Stay strong.
worldclassrager 41
Just answer the question all questions should be cleared just hope they don't put you in ESL classes if you are going into college
mld4657 28
speak Spanish or German to her and really confuse her..