I was never under the impression that being of mixed race was going to cause any issues. And, for the most part, it hasn’t. Sure, getting weird looks from other Hispanic people when I get involved with more traditional things isn’t always the most fun thing, and it gets really old when I have to sit there and explain that I’m half Hispanic. I can’t complain, however, because I never deal with blatant racism. I recognize that I have an inherent advantage over other Hispanic people because I ended up with a paler shade of olive skin, so I just look like a white girl with a bit of a tan. Short of being a little darker than most of my peers, I really don’t stand out in a crowd of white people as biracial.

I can’t say much about racism from a firsthand experience. I’ve experienced so little and it has had so little bearing on my life. I’ve been called racial slurs and been assumed to be Mexican rather than Puerto Rican, but that is, in all honesty, not too rough compared to what my non-mixed minority friends have experienced in their lives. My name sounds white, my hair is dyed blonde, I have green eyes, and the rest of my immediate family that I live with isn’t mixed race. I blend right in. I have all the privileges of being white. I will more than likely never face a fatal altercation because of my race. I will likely never be rejected from a job because of the way my name sounds. I will never struggle to find acceptance in workplaces or social circles. I don’t have an accent (other than my own southern drawl), and I speak English as my first language. I suffer no inherent bias for my race or any aspect of the culture I have because I look like a white girl. There’s nothing wrong with that, at least personally. I’m not angry that I have a privilege, other than that one exists to begin with. Being whiter isn’t ever truly going to be a disadvantage to me, and I’m not going to pretend that the benefits don't exist (although I don’t think it is fair to other people of color). I have an easier time throughout my life because, despite being biracial, I still look white.

Still, having my culture erased because I don’t possess all of the traits of one half of my heritage is still frustrating. I may not be as dark as other Hispanic people, or have an accent, but I am still Hispanic. I don’t “look the part,” but I’m still Hispanic. I’m not specifically Mexican, but I’m still Hispanic and that is a huge part of my identity. No one wants something that is so wholly apart of them taken away by a snap judgment by a stranger. I love my culture. I love how my fathers’ side of the family speaks Spanglish and eats arroz con pollo with green olives and a big cup of espresso. I love helping my Papo make pasteles and grill pork in the summer. I’m still Hispanic; my appearance doesn’t solely define that. More people would be surprised to find out that my light eye color actually comes from the Hispanic half of my genetic makeup, not the white half.

When someone says, “I’m (insert ethnic identity here)” the proper response is not to criticize their appearance or mannerisms that may not seem to fit your stereotype of a Hispanic person. Making assumptions just makes others feel bad for something we have no power over.