Light From Uncommon Stars

by Ryka Aoki

“You might ask what this has to do with you. Shirley, you can’t control how people see you. All you can do is accept it, right?” Really? Miss Satomi had seemed wise. But accepting how others saw you—as nice as that sounded—was wrong. For example, Katrina’s family insisted that she was a boy … And why should Shirley accept what her mother thought of her? “But what if their views don’t match what you know is true?” Shirley said, disappointedly. “Well, if you feel that strongly about your truth, then there is no reason to worry about your existence, is there?” Shirley paused, processing what Miss Satomi had said. “Shirley, I am telling you this because I don’t trust people. When you go back to the shop, your family may still see you as a program. In fact, I think they will, I’m sorry to say. So when they do, remember what you just said.”

pp.277 -- perception v. reality