I like to describe myself as a bit culturally confused, since my mother grew up in India, my father is from Ohio and I was raised in the South. I absolutely love my mixed heritage, and wouldn't ever want to change it. However, when you're a mixed minority, you tend to get some strange reactions from people. These are the main ones I've had to get used to through the years.
1. "So like... what are you?"
Well, I'm a human. I'm female. I'm a college student. I'm a writer. I'm a big sister. I'm a daughter. Need I go on? Oh wait, what you actually want to know is where my parents are from!
2. People tell me there's no way I could fit in with either side of my family.
"You don't look white, but you also don't look Indian. Is that weird for your family?" Well, my family's love for me is not based off the color of my skin, and yes, I love the Indian and American sides of my family equally.
3. "So are you going to marry a (insert race here ) or a (insert race here)?"
Honestly, when I was little, I would stress myself out trying to decide which one I needed to marry when I grew up. But obviously, that didn't matter to my parents, so it shouldn't matter to me. Also, it shouldn't matter to strangers who just met me and are trying to figure out my life's future based off of my race.
4. "Hola!" When I'm at work, or really anywhere, people will speak to me enthusiastically in fluent Spanish.
People always assume I'm Latina. At work, people will specifically come to me instead of my coworkers because they assume I speak Spanish, and I always have to let them down, because other than my 2 years taking it in high school, I'm pretty much useless with that language.
5. "What even is your accent?"
I don't blame people for being confused by my accent. Typically I have a bit of a southern twang since I was raised in Georgia, but my mom pronounces lots of words the British way, and my dad says things the Northern way, so often my friends are just super confused when I'm talking. Sorry, pals.
6. "Are you more (insert race here) or (insert race here)?"
I won't deny the other half of me, or choose one single race to identify with. I wrote this to comically show the typical reactions I get because of my unique biracialism, but in all seriousness, I love being mixed. Growing up, I wished I was just one race because it would've been easier. But now I would choose the difficulties of being mixed any day, because my two ethnicities are part of what makes me who I am.
