A Step from Heaven Foreignness Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #10

I spin around and around trying to make myself dizzy. Empty the fears that spring inside my head every time I think about leaving home. Uhmma and Joon. What if I don't like it at college? What if I stand out like an alien? What if I am disappointed? (30.8)

Young Ju's about to set off to college, so it's no wonder she's feeling insecure. But she's got more going on than the typical college jitters—she's worried about being "like an alien," which is a clear reference to the politics surrounding immigration policies and the use of the un-pc term illegal aliens. Even though Young Ju isn't illegal herself, her feeling of "alienness" reminds us that the words we use to describe people of different races inevitably impacts the way they view themselves.