First Person: A Vietnamese American writer finds her identity

I don’t remember exactly when it happened. But I do remember exactly how I felt when it did.
I was about 7 years old as I sat in the passenger seat of a car, while a relative was driving me somewhere. Suddenly, another car drove next to us. The driver and passenger appeared to be teenage boys. Possibly, they were in their early 20’s. I suppose their age wasn’t important. What was very important were the two words I was about to hear, words that would change my life.
“F***