“Unveiling Identity: How Names Bind Us in Kate Lu Sedor’s Captivating Exploration”
Given this context, my Chinese name is almost as funny: Feng Ai, I’ve been told, translates roughly to “beautiful bird,” a reference to the mythical phoenix. Written in traditional script, my name contains the hanzi character for “love,” a sentiment flung across the world by my father’s parents, whom I would not meet until I was ten. My name was their first gift. Their wish for me, however, didn’t stick: Bombarded by waves of blonde hair, blue eyes, and statuesque proportions, I have never felt particularly beautiful. I was, instead, dark-haired and dark-eyed, a firebird of ashes, not flame. I spent my early years wishing to be taller, thinner, to have an eyelid crease and a pointier nose. I didn’t feel resilience, only resentment for my genetics.
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