This Friday my office had a happy hour after work. As I was chatting with colleagues in a non-work setting, I made some offhand comment about using checklists with my mom as it related to a story I was sharing. My colleague immediately jokingly asked if my mom was Singaporean, making a subtle reference to her perception of the overly structured expectations in Singaporean business culture that we are currently experiencing on our project. My mind immediately jumped to the thought of “oh my god, does she think I am half-Asian because of my eyes?” I jokingly laughed it off and the conversation moved onward. Only a day later did it occur to me that I think she was just making a joke about our client. I don’t think my self-consciousness will ever leave me where I consistently jump to conclusions that people are judging me based on my eyes. Oftentimes, they probably aren’t, but that still remains my first interpretation or in the very least something I wonder. I don’t know how to effectively un-train my brain on this one.