My parents own a restaurant in downtown Oakland - Garden House - and I started working there at 8. I'd work the cash register while people looked at me skeptically. Free child labor! Su-chin Pak More Quotes by Su-chin Pak More Quotes From Su-chin Pak There was never a book, a magazine, a movie, a television show that spoke to my experience as a bicultural teen. I could find a million articles on finding the perfect prom dress or getting the guy of your dreams, but how about 'Ten Sure Fire Steps to Being the Perfect Korean Daughter and Not Be a Freak at Your High School?' Su-chin Pak dress dreams daughter fire Looking in a mirror and telling yourself to feel better doesn't work when you're a girl, but finding something that you love to do, something that makes you a better person like volunteering to help others, will definitely make a difference. Su-chin Pak mirror girl work love Ten million 16-year-old girls would sell their right arm to live the life that I've had. Su-chin Pak right live sell life People don't realize that being eco-friendly doesn't require radical changes. It's not an all-or-nothing thing. Really, it's about very simple, little changes you can make. You can still be into fashion, care about what your skin looks like, or think about what bag you're going to carry that day. You just learn to incorporate better choices. Su-chin Pak day you simple people I love TV. I've done it since I was 16. I don't have another skill. Su-chin Pak skill tv done love Every time I get caught on the subway around 3 or 4 during the school year, it's definitely dicey. I get a lot of like - 'Yo, are you that girl?' Then I have to go eight stops with them. Su-chin Pak you girl time school I was one of three hosts for a daily talk show on the Oxygen network when it first launched in 2000. This was before 'Bad Girls Club,' so don't judge. Su-chin Pak daily judge bad three Live theater makes me nervous. I feel like I have to fake emotions, because the actors can see me. Su-chin Pak live feel me fake Man, it's hard living in N.Y.C. - even when you have money in your pockets. Su-chin Pak your you man money I feel no shame getting in bed at nine. Su-chin Pak i-feel feel shame bed It's funny: being green to me was ingrained because my parents were always trying to save money, save water, turn off the lights, or arrange a carpool. I don't think my parents even know what it means to be green, but they were. Su-chin Pak me money water funny Some of the most green people in our lives are our parents and grandparents, who always bought locally and carefully. I remember my grandmother would buy a jar of cream and make it last for a long time. To me, that is just as green as something with an expensive, eco-savvy label on it. Su-chin Pak me green time people Just as you would if you wanted to eat healthier or take better care of your skin, the most important thing you can do when buying something is to turn over the bottle and get informed about the ingredients. Many items we use daily are full of unpronounceable chemicals. Su-chin Pak skin daily you care Conversations about money, culture, power, class - it's at the center of my identity. I think it's a combination of being born to immigrant parents, growing up relatively poor, and really living in a world where formal institutions, like banks and anywhere that you had to sign a contract, was really feared and avoided at all costs. Su-chin Pak you money power culture People will talk about money in the general sense, but not in the specific sense of, like, where'd you fail, how'd you succeed, how'd you do it. Su-chin Pak you succeed money people The Hester Street Fair is kind of like a tiny baby DailyCandy market every week in the Lower East Side. Su-chin Pak street like week baby My parents are small business owners, and the Korean community, like a lot of immigrant communities, is very much owner-driven. Su-chin Pak parents small community business Growing up, the only Asian face I saw on air was Connie Chung or extras on M*A*S*H. That was it. You could either be Chinese delivery guy No. 4 or maybe one day read the news. Su-chin Pak face day you news I did MTV so long because it's been really hard to find a place that has been able to keep my interests where I can do more than one beat. Su-chin Pak find place i-can long Very few people know what it's like being onstage looking out at a sea of bodies. Su-chin Pak looking know sea people
