“Why I Hid My Lunch” by Caroline D. made me remember all the times when I turned down my mom’s home cooking whenever she said I should bring it to school to eat. After reading this powerful piece, I now regret all those moments. Caroline perfectly describes the feeling of being bullied because of being different. The emotion of sadness, insecurity, and being hurt really successfully connects through to the reader. She then describes how she had to deal with these emotions, either by hiding her food, not eating at all, or by only showing her closest friends the unique meal she had. At the end, she demonstrates how because of her friends appreciating her culture, she realizes that she shouldn’t hide her real self and her culture anymore. Those wounding words meant nothing to her now.
   As I read Caroline’s story, I really thought back to when I neglected my mother’s homemade cooking because I thought all the kids in my school would make fun of me. I really regret those moments. Just like Caroline, I, too am of Asian descent and I know exactly how it feels to be made fun of because you’re different. Her line “I didn’t eat that day. When my parents later asked why I hadn’t touched my lunch, I was too embarrassed to tell them what had happened. ‘I wasn’t hungry.’ I lied.” really took me back to the moments when I didn’t eat my homemade lunch or even bother to take it out and when I decided to lie to my mom about me not being hungry. I told her that she should stop packing me her cooking and that I’ll just eat school lunch. Even after saying that, she kept packing me the meal because she knew it was my favorite. I can’t imagine what she must’ve felt. After reading this, I now appreciate my culture and my mom’s delicious cooking even more than I do. Thank you, Caroline.