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By Sarah D. Park

I’d like to share a bit about my little brother Andrew. He is someone who gives delight and inspires admiration — the most charming person I know — and because it will please me that you all will get to know him, well, we’re going to run with that for this month’s topic.

To be sure, he is far from little, standing a full head and shoulders taller than me with a broad chest, a goofy smile, and thick wavy hair from Mom’s side of the family. Hugging him is like hugging a beefy tree you can’t wrap your arms around. I enjoy smacking his torso because the sound gets absorbed into the density of his mass.

I grew up thinking he was just a sweet kid who didn’t know what he wanted, but in his own time, he emerged as a Renaissance man. Off of YouTube alone, he taught himself how to meditate and cut his own hair, he knows how to sew leather bands for his watches, and he made a teddy bear out of thrifted clothing. He taught himself photography and videography and makes a living out of both. He challenged himself to recreate King Taco’s green sauce for my birthday gift and got damn near close to it. He bought me a pair of sunglasses I didn’t like, saying it would elevate my fashion, and sure enough, he was right.

I’m not the only one who thinks he’s charming. My sister-in-law’s family – she has five younger siblings – has swallowed him whole as if God had custom tailored an older brother just for them. Andrew whips up feasts out of nothing, trying out new recipes that always turn out to be tasty delicious. He is their workout buddy, fashion critic, jester, oppa, and hyung.

His charm is especially effective with strangers. He took some work friends to a Korean ribs restaurant and the owner brought out all the fixings – multiple free dishes rolling out of the kitchen because Andrew was chatty the last few times he was there. I can definitely be counted upon to rustle up a free dessert, but when I do it, it’s deliberate. Strangers often help him for no apparent reason than that they like him. Andrew is just like that.

I write about him not only to mortify him, but to hold onto what is good and true in a time when Asian Americans are blamed, harassed, and spit on because of COVID-19. While holding our own rage and frustration, let us remember, cultivate, seek out, and speak out what is good and true about who we are. I pray that what other scared people say or do cannot touch who he is. I remember that Andrew is healthy and safe today, and I am thankful. Even though he tore up this blog post and I found him less charming for it.

Perhaps, in naming what and who we have, we might be empowered to better face our reality, hold onto hope, and reach out to others. To my people, and to Andrew, I love you.

Sarah D. Park is a freelance writer whose work focuses on the cultivation of cross-racial dialogue with a Christian faith orientation. She is also a story producer for Inheritance Magazine and manages communications for several organizations. She currently calls the Bay Area her home but is an Angeleno through and through.