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21st Century Youth – The Yale Herald

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I’ve known Eia since we were seven, but I didn’t know her until we were thirteen. That’s when she revealed, two months after the fact, that her mother had moved to live with her boyfriend, making Eia the primary caretaker for her brother and grandma. The news surprised me. Her bright, curious eyes had betrayed nothing. Eia and I met at our all-girls Catholic primary school in Hong Kong, where we learned the mundane joys of sharing home cooked meals and the importance of abiding by the school’s strict regulations. Nail polish, hair dye, makeup, and earrings were strictly forbidden. Our hair had to be in braids unless it was shorter than shoulder-length, and hair ties had to be in our school colors of orange, blue, or black. Years later, we would realize that these rules embedded themselves into unconscious, people-pleasing habits and an overwhelming desire for self-expression. Eia was born with a smart mouth—a useful skill in the world but an annoyance in school. She regularly showed up

Design by Sara Offer I’ve known Eia since we were seven, but I didn’t know her until we were thirteen. That’s when she revealed, two months after the fact, that her mother had moved to live with her boyfriend, making Eia the primary caretaker for her brother and grandma. The news surprised me. Her bright, curious eyes had betrayed nothing. Eia and I met at our all-girls Catholic primary school in Hong Kong, where we learned the mundane joys of sharing home cooked meals and the importance of abiding by the school’s strict regulations. Nail polish, hair dye, makeup, and earrings were strictly fo

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