Officially, the model minority myth is the belief that all Asians are naturally high achieving. Unofficially, it meant that my childhood was a constant barrage of jokes about having to go to Harvard and become a doctor or lawyer. It meant stepping into a room and knowing that…

I sometimes come across scenes in movies or TV shows that make fun of Asian students’ obsession of getting As. The characters (usually white) would ecstatically celebrate getting a B, while their Asian peers look gloomy, if not depressed. Although years passed since I watched this sitcom, I…