Invisibility

I’m a solid three weeks into San Diego State University and so far, I haven’t been to an SDSU-based party, haven’t had an anecdote worth submitting to the ‘Black Men Chronicles’ (save one awkward two-second interaction), and — trust me when I say I’m not exaggerating — haven’t been able to switch off my (very effective) invisibility shield that I wasn’t aware that I possessed… until I entered State.

Yesterday, my Rhetoric and Writing Studies class was asked to flock into our professor-prepared groups of three to discuss our presentations.  When I sat down and looked around, I noticed that not only was I the only Asian in my group, I was the only minority in both my group and the groups surrounding.  It was made especially apparent to me when I spoke to introduce myself and no one seemed to hear.  I tapped on my throat, cleared my voice, and tried again.  I got the same reaction — that is, none at all.  Whoever said “third time’s a charm” clearly wasn’t in (or near) the bottom portion of America’s racial hierarchy.  And for future reference, fourth and fifth times aren’t charms either.

Today, I attempted to summon the off-switch of my invisibility mode through intense meditation and breathing exercises, which proved completely ineffective after my experience in Sociology discussion.  Tammy had shadowed me to all my classes and when — again — we were asked to form groups, the girl in front of me turns to Tammy, not me, and asks her to join.  Since I was clearly staring her down for not inviting the both of us, she asks me with a perplexed expression, “Because you’re… not in this class.  Right?”  No, dumb bitch, I’ve just had perfect attendance and sat in front or relatively near you each class.

I was confident that my obnoxious personality and flashy outfits would grab some one’s attention when I first entered State, but I guess having the superhuman ability to be invisible is a better quality to possess.

Perhaps I’ll use my superpower to fight crime…

I’ll let you know how it goes.