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
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Top comments
RageWolf16 31
I hate the human race sometimes
Alikia96 20
The racism is strong in this one
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Comments (131)
Witchylady 18
Wow, that counsellor is an idiot.
love_me_electric 20
Do you have an accent? I was friends with someone from Korea who moved here when he was very young but still had a strong accent from listening to his parents. He spoke English fine, but most people wouldn't assume he grew up in an English speaking country.
days_lo 3
Chinese is an ethnic FYI
GRubi 17
Maybe she thought you learned how to ask about your classes in English just for this special occasion.
Mooglefox 24
That is when you start hitting the guy with a bat to knock some sense into him.
russfml 31
And that's when I say May the ignorant stay stupid
imnotanybody 2
Shame on you! You can't even speak your own language. How did you manage to grow up in your household without picking up at least a little bit of Chinese?
Setareh23 34
Ever think that maybe his parents seldom speak it? Some parents actively avoid teaching their native language to their children in an effort to make them integrate more easily. Or maybe they just prefer to speak English at home. Or maybe they just felt it was too much trouble to teach OP or send him to Chinese classes. Etc etc.
thew_fml 14
the OP's "own language" is english. not chinese.
bambilamb 11
I have to agree with you #108, I am bilingual because my parents speak their native language to one another at home as I'm sure OP's parent's do too...native languages are a part of who people are and I can't believe that any parent would consider it too much effort to teach their children the language that is part of their heritage. As far as integration goes (#119's comment) learning another language won't stop you integrating with the people/culture/country you are being brought up in.
LotsOfConfusion 9
This is not an FML. She's a moron!
Beccag7 14
That's the problem with school counselors: they never actually LISTEN to the problem. They just ask, "who was involved?" and then bring everyone in to talk about it. Always turns into a screaming match at my school.
fantasyworld 39
That was my middle school guidance counselor.
PizzaDeliveryGrl 19
Welp, I learned a couple new things: Everyone's forgotten what racism means And people like that still exist Didn't really learn that last one. I was just forced to remember it. I'd tell you to tell her off if it was even worth it, but I somehow don't think so. You can tell your parents if it bothers you so much and see what they say. Leave ignorant people like that in their ignorance, they aren't going to change.