It was a sunny warm day when my family decided to go to the park to have a family picnic. Me and my mom stayed behind for a bit because we were looking for the tongs, the asian carpet, and the big umbrella in case it got too hot and we needed shade. We finally found them and headed to the park where everyone was at, including my boyfriend.

“Why can’t you follow your sister's footsteps?” She asked

“What do you mean?” I asked confusingly

“Your sister’s are smart, successful, they are in relationships with Hmong men” she said.

“I’m not a robot..I am a human being, I am your daughter.  Don’t you want me to be happy? You keep saying all these negative stuff about me and my boyfriend but have you even considered about how happy we are together?” I said sounding upset

The car ride remained quiet, so quiet that the only thing you could hear was the road and our breathing. Few minutes began to pass and then she spoke.

“I don’t like your boyfriend, LaLa. He’s not Hmong and he will treat you badly. Only us Hmong people will treat each other lovingly but he won’t because he’s not Hmong.” she yelled sounding angry
   
“You only think that way because of his ethnicity and his appearance. Why don’t you focus more on what’s on the inside. I know you don’t like him because he isn’t Hmong but I can’t stop my feelings for him. He makes me happy and he makes me feel loved. He’s not a bad person ma. He’s kind, he’s loving, he’s funny, he gets along with others easily, he’s smart, and he knows how to dress properly..not like those Hmong men who you want me to be with.” I said sounding frustrated.

We reached the park and my boyfriend was there talking to the rest of my family until he saw us and ran towards our way to help bring out the stuff.

After he set the items down he went back to talk to my family. They all looked like they were having fun because they were laughing and smiling like there was no tomorrow. They were enjoying themselves.

My mom went over to see what they were talking about and before you know it she was laughing and smiling while my boyfriend was telling stories.

After talking to the adults he decided to go play with my nieces and nephews. I started to join in and my mom saw how happy everyone was. She then made eye contact with me and started to walk towards me. I got up and started walking her way as well.

 “I’m sorry, I misjudged him. He is an amazing man LaLa. He’s so good with everyone here, they all love him and so do I.” she said while smiling and placing her hand on my right arm

I smiled back and went back to playing with them. Few minutes later food was ready.

“FOOD’S READY!” my uncle called out

Everybody got up, grabbed a plate, and filled their plates up to the top with some delicious BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken, rice, and some veggies.

My mom focused on what was on the inside and not the outside and because of that she accepted my boyfriend for who he is and not what he looks like. People’s mind and eyes can fool the way people think and see. The reason why peoples minds and eyes are fooled so easily is because of what people see on social media, the news, TV shows, and internet. So they tend to believe in all that stuff and focus on the appearance inside of who they really are and what kind of person they are because they’ve forgotten to look beyond the appearance.