A box of Girl Scout cookies reminded Sarah Huang of her upbringing and why she’s proud to be Asian American in the Bay Area.

At the end of Girl Scout cookie season, I bought a box of Samoas from a girl scout with a big googly eye stuck to her forehead. I immediately recognized it, of course: the googly eye is a symbol of unconditional joy in 2022’s Everything Everywhere All at Once, a film about girlhood, the multiverse, and embracing Asian American identity.

I started crying as I rode away on my bike, clutching the familiar purple box of cookies close. The girl scout with the googly eye was a mirror image of my younger self, who sold cookies with her mom, whose sash was covered incrookedly-sewn patches, who tied her dark, thick hair in two even pigtails. But when I was her age, I hated being Asian American. I grew up in a suburb in Colorado that’s 90% white. I spent much of my upbringing suppressing every element I could of my Chinese culture, all the conversations I had with my grandparents in Mandarin, all the red envelopes, all the family stories and recipes and secrets. It was exhausting and isolating but I didn’t know another way to be.

Everything changed when I moved to California for college five years ago. I had the chance to meet fellow students who were incredibly proud of their Asian American identities. Inspired, I immersed myself in community stories and joined clubs where I took part in the cultural traditions my parents wanted me to love as a little kid. It was a metamorphic transformation of connection and healing that led me to where I am today, someone who could not be more proud to be Asian and Chinese American.

It’s possible that the girl scout who sold me a box of samoas just likes googly eyes. But regardless, that moment at the cookie stand reminded me that I am so lucky to live in the Bay Area. I’m surrounded by so many people who love being Asian American just as much as I do, and I have so many rich opportunities to connect with my community. There’s not a single day that passes where I take it for granted.