For a Korean Adoptee girl who has always loved the stage, this year’s Oscars was one I will never forget.

All I ever wanted was to be Baby Spice when the group of girls on the playground would run around pretending to be Spice Girls. There was no Asian in the group, so usually, I was told I couldn’t join.

Each Halloween, I faced the dilemma that no one would know who I was unless it was the perfect outfit because there were no East Asian princesses or actresses people would recognize.

Growing up, I gravitated toward Brenda Song (Thai and Hmong descent) and Lucy Liu (Chinese descent) because they looked like me. They were never winning any rewards and slowly were cast into smaller roles.

Then I saw Sandra Oh (South Korean descent) in Grey's Anatomy. I had seen her before but only in supporting roles. Yet again, her character was a supporting role, but slowly got to see her step out as her character developed.

Oh went on from Grey’s to be the leading lady in other shows and showed me for the first time an Eastern Asian woman being cast for non-Asian stereotypical roles. She didn’t have to be a ninja. She didn’t have to have a funny accent. She could be a woman.

It has only been in the last couple of years seeing Eastern Asian culture and actors being represented accurately and non-stereotypical with the most known movie Shang Shi in 2021.

After years of seeing actors and actresses who look like me get past for recognition, TWO East Asians win in one night! Michelle Yeoh (Malaysian) and Ke Huy Quan (Vietnamese) show that people who look like me can be recognized for acting and performing without being in a typecast role. People who look like us can be in any role and have a chance to be accepted in that role.

My dreams of wanting to be an actress have dwindled, most likely from not believing I could ever be successful. I hope that the next generation and all future generations of girls who look like me always have a character to play or dress up as because we will see a true representation of what is in this world!