Camouflage Failed Successfully

Your eyes do not deceive you, yes it is an image of a giraffe with the hide of a zebra. This image was taken in Kowloon. The giraffe is situated just outside the entrance to Eaton Food Hall.

A fair number of people are confused when first looking at this giraffe, they try to make sense of it. There are some who find it comical enough to point and laugh at it. Others staunchly believing it to be something it is not. But by far the most common reaction, or lack thereof; is ignoring the giraffe. Whether due to indifference, unawareness or they are caught up in their own world, who can really say why they pay it no mind.

As for me, I did find it peculiar enough to crack a smile. Initially it was a smile of peculiar amusement, but it soon became a smile of familiarity. The various different reactions towards this giraffe, more or less mirrored the feelings growing up as a refugee in Hong Kong. For a very long time, no matter how hard I tried to blend in, I always felt out of place. It was only relatively recently, I realized that when you try to be something you are not, rarely if ever does it end well, and I have embraced who and what I am, and it has fueled me to keep on keeping on, one day at a time.