When I was 15 years old, I found myself in a tumultuous situation that I never could have imagined. It all started when I witnessed domestic abuse between a white couple. The abuser, according to many girls, had bipolar disorder and was controlling towards his girlfriend. He was particularly angry that she was friends with me and did everything he could to separate us.
I tried to help the girlfriend by giving her candy and offering hugs to comfort her during her distress. Her boyfriend, who despised me for being Chinese, became even more hostile towards me when he found out she had sought solace in my presence.
One day, he even mustered the courage to ask me out, to which I promptly refused. This rejection only fueled his anger, leading him to start following me and even locking me in a classroom at one point. He also began exerting control over the other girls in our class, causing chaos and spreading rumors. One of the girls went as far as accusing me of heinous acts I would never commit.
Feeling overwhelmed and ostracized, I turned to researching figures like Mao, Stalin, and Che Guevara, hoping to find solace in their struggles against oppression. It was then that I realized I was engaged in a power struggle with the abuser – he represented the Western bloc while I embodied the Eastern bloc.
As time went on, I witnessed him flirting with other girls and even resorted to stealing snacks from his bag out of sheer hunger, despite his treatment of me as inferior. Eventually, I took a stand and stood up to him, breaking free from his control and helping the other girls do the same. We then beat him with rulers and toppled him off from his throne.
The power dynamics shifted, and I watched as he spiraled into a state of madness, mirroring the fall of Nicolae Ceausescu. He eventually switched schools, along with the girl. I never saw any of them again. Despite the passing of four years, the memories of that turbulent time still haunt me. But as my mom reassures me, I will eventually outgrow the shadows of my past and emerge stronger than ever before.
