Award winning Essay "My Neighborhood"

Junior Michelle H.'s essay on Growing Up Asian in America has been selected as a Bay Area winner by the Asian Pacific Fund.  The theme this year was "On My Street and in My Neighborhood."  Michelle's essay "My Asian Muse" addresses the diversity in her neighborhood and the experiences of being an Asian American.

An excerpt from her short essay:

"It is hard to neatly classify my neighborhood. It fixes no one standard of classification. It is a delicate blend of all the fine, poor, and mediocre things found in our society. My neighborhood is very much like a buffet table. A bit of chow mein, a bit of BBQ ribs, a large helping of mash potatoes. Some food might be disgusting, some might be bland, but many are a mixture of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy."

Michelle accepted her award on April 30 at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum, and her work will also be on display in Bay Area public libraries this summer.