Being mix raced is like having two dogs, you have twice the love to go around. You become a novice in understanding the vast world around you and all of its contents. It is absolutely beautiful watching cultures collide before my eyes. One minute I'm celebrating Chinese New Year, and before I know it, it's St. Patrick's Day. Being multiracial is a roller coaster ride, but that's just how my journey in life is going to be. My mixture is Vietnamese, Chinese, and Irish, and like Ming Tsai's cooking show, a corporeal "East Meets West."
1. You start to learn the world wide web of language
Language is universal throughout the entire world, and it’s interesting to discover what some words mean, and where their roots came from. I grew up learning Vietnamese simultaneously with English, so I was able to be exposed to both languages. I learned early on in Vietnamese, the word for love, thương. Thương also happens to be the same word for hurt or to be wounded. Isn’t that ironic? I learned this early enough that it stuck with me through all these years, and it baffles me how relevant this notion is. Love is a paradoxical feeling, and it could even be both at the same time. Take Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, Troilus describes his ailments as love sickness, isn’t it odd how we can get sick from love, which can also be a cure? If you know any other languages, make sure that you study them wholeheartedly to gain a better understanding of the world.
2. You always must look in the mirror three (or however many races you are plus one) times.
You look in the mirror the first time, for one race. Then the other. Then lastly, for a wholesome and complete image, of your “mut”-like appearance. It’s a peculiar deal some days, like one day I’ll be thinking, “Wow, I look so much like my mom,” and she’s 100% Asian. Other days, I will look in the mirror, and think about how pale my complexion is, and how rapidly my freckles are multiplying (my dad is 100% Irish). I like to think of myself as a healthy mix of both, or “VietChIrish,” /vēˌet ˌCHīˈ riSH/ noun, a sobriquet I coined to encompass all the ingredients that made me. Make sure you always soak up everything that you are made of.
3. Some people make you question your identity.
Unfortunately, this is something that I am frequently asked. A lot of people come up to me saying, “You don’t look Irish.” I can’t apologize or defend what I look like, all I know is where I genetically came from, and the way that my skin was printed was completely up to Mother Nature. I am, however, as fond of potatoes, and St. Patrick’s Day as any other native Irish person would be. Just because I don’t have red hair, and green eyes don’t make me any less of a person. Some Irish dude told me to stop being a “race absorbing sponge” because he doesn’t understand how genetics work, in his world you must be an Irish native to qualify as Irish. I can’t blame people for the shock they get when I come out as Irish, on the other side of the coin, you don’t have to look a certain way to be part of a racial group. Some other people invest in stereotypes, and think that because I am of Vietnamese heritage that I'm a Communist, which is completely untrue, and quite honestly offensive. I know what I am, and quite frankly, subscribing to Marxist political theories is not something that I do. Don’t let people tell you what you are, you already know.
4. You become an expert on multiple cultures
One perk of being multiracial is your expertise on multiple cultures. Some people may be the master of one, but we are the jack of all or some in this case. Because of my Vietnamese and Chinese heritage, I am fascinated by red, traditional Chinese folk music, and learning about new stinky foods that I haven’t tried yet. I can embrace my multi-faceted identity through investing my time in the cultures I consist of. Being Irish I can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and deck myself out in green colors. If you are multiracial, make sure that you embrace all parts of your identity, to expose yourself to the vastness of our world. And if you’re fascinated by other cultures and nationalities, study them as well.
