Passports: What do they say about you? (WARNING: SERIOUS RANT AHEAD)

Dear Internet,

Today I overheard somebody  *cough cough* talking about how "some people just get the passport and say that they're 'English', even thought they're not". This person then pointed out that your passport doesn't mean you are a part of that country's people.

I partially agreed but also disagreed with this statement. Firstly, being Chinese but born in England and raised there for 7 years of my life, I couldn't help but be mad about that. And secondly, how could he just ASSUME that that is what people do? He is NOT "some people" and he never will be!

Now allow me to distinguish between what your passport says about you and what your race says about you. I'll use myself as an example.

• Race: Chinese. My ancestors were Chinese, my family all come from China (okay fine my mum comes from Taiwan), and I look Chinese. 
• Passport/Nationality: British. I was born in England (check my birth certificate if you like), I was raised in England for 7 years of my life and if you ask me where I'm from, I will most likely say I'm English. My mum, dad and my sister all hold English passports too, and my nationality is British. I'm not pretending. I am telling the truth. 

So by saying that people "just get the passport" and "say" that they are from a specific place, I was really ticked off. Did I "just get the passport" when I was born there? No! I was born a British citizen and that's that. Does me saying that I'm English when I look full-blooded Chinese mean that I'm "just saying" that I'm English? Nope. I AM English. 

So when I was born in England, I didn't just get a passport. I got a part of me. So if some people don't understand the subtle differences, that's their problem. 

From, 

Me

P.S. Sorry for another one of these rant posts. Don't get mad at me, I just needed to get all of this out before I could continue my homework in peace. 

Yes! DIY Washi Tape :)

Dear Internet,

I've been dying to try and washi tape my keyboard cover for a while now. It looks adorable. But, washi tape is really expensive (think: $6-8 for a roll of paper tape with printed designs on it) and I can't afford to buy it, especially since the project would require at least 4 or 5 different designs to look cute. #firstworldproblems much?

So, I took to Googling my problem and lo-and-behold! I found out how to make your own washi tape. Isn't it sad how simple it is to make, but people are being ripped off by sellers on Etsy? Here you go, Internet: DIY washi tape!

Step 1: Get a roll (or 2, or 3, depending on how much tape you want to make) of double-sided tape.

Image from www.flowstrip.co.uk

Step 2: Find some old wrapping paper, newspaper, tissue paper or print off some rectangles of patterned paper from the interwebs. Note: the paper you get must be AT LEAST the width of the double sided tape you have purchased.

Image from www.paperpastries.blogspot.com

Step 3: Cover the paper with strips of double sided tape, then cut out. 

Image from www.aestheticnest.com

Step 4: Store your paper tape on old spools, or any other ways you can think of. 

Image from justsomethingimade.com

I actually haven't made my own tape yet (sorry sorry don't kill me) but I am really excited to try it and decorate every single thing I lay my eyes on with it! 

From, 

Me.

My Passive-Aggressive Sister, Selina.

Dear Internet,

My sister can be so annoying sometimes. She is extremely passive-aggressive and it really bugs me. I don't understand why she just can't say what she want's to say. The passive-aggressiveness really comes out when we're going out for dinner (which is actually quite often).

It usually starts when we're deciding what to eat. Generally it's Chinese food but sometimes we eat Italian or Japanese food too. Or German (yumm~). So, my sister knows what to expect. But she always ends up going to her passive-aggressive, typical behaviour.

Parents: OK what are we going to eat today?
*silence*
Parents: Chinese food? German food?
Sister: Japanese food!
Parents: But you just had Japanese food last week. How about we have Italian food?
Sister: *silence*
Me: Mum, dad, I think Selina wants Japanese food.
Sister: No, it's okay...... we can have Italian food if you want....
*conversation goes on forever*

ARGH! Why can't she just say what she wants? I don't bite (most of the time)!

From,
Me.

Feeling Like the Third Wheel

Dear Internet,

I recently started school again and two of my best friends from my class last year are in my class! Yay!
But recently, I feel like my two friends are avoiding me, or at least trying to hang out with each other more than they are hanging out with me.

Like in class, they always want to sit next to each other. And that's fine, but because there are only three of us, one of us will have to sit either by ourself or with an annoying girl who also came from last year's class.

They also chat to each other but hide their screens whenever I look over briefly. Or, they whisper to each other and deny anything when I ask just out of curiosity. I feel like they're keeping secrets from me or bad-mouthing me.

I don't know what happened. Did I change over the summer? Did they change? Are we seeing too much of each other?

I also feel like maybe they think I'm intruding on their friendship. They've been in the same class for five years now, but I've only been in the same class as A for three years (counting this one) and B for two years (also counting this one).

I need help :(

From,
Me

EDIT: Problem solved :D