I never really try to get political. In fact, I try to stay out of politics a lot because I hate trying to argue about something I believe in to someone else who believes otherwise. It’s a waste of my time and only angers me more when I fail to convince someone. You can believe whatever you want; you’ll either reap benefits or consequences in the long run.

So then why am I writing a post about interracial love? Well, if I am going to get political about something, it’s either going to either be about love or about equality. This is kind of a mix of the two. Like I said, you can believe whatever you want. I’m not saying this to force it into your brain. I’m saying this because it’s what I believe in and I encourage you to think about it some and maybe you’ll change your belief, maybe not. You decide your life.

Anyway, being multi-ethnic, yes: I do believe that interracial marriage is good, nice, awesome, should be legal, etc. The fact that there are people out there who continue to be firm on the stance that “I will only date people who are my own ethnicity” bug me.

Let’s get into some childhood story time.

When I was a young, there was a boy who I thought was cool. I wanted to date him. He and I got close and he was nice to me and all that jazz. But before anything could go further than that, he said to me, “I only date girls of my own race. It’s something I grew up believing, and I want to continue it. I think you’re nice and all, but because I believe that, this cannot go any further.” And, at the time, Young Me was devastated.

But it got me thinking: essentially the only people you really see people enforcing same-ethnic relationships are white. Once upon a time they had laws against it, specifically for Whites & African Americans. Asians? Nah. Asians were still a fresh minority at the time, many of whom lived in Western states. But many Asian families were very strict on the same-ethnic marriage attitude. My mom’s parents were to an extent, but my great aunt married a white man and I think that the rest of the family saw that and was like, "Okay, go ahead." They were also immersed into the culture early and spoke English, so they were practically American.

Therefore, because of my parents' relationship and the reality of being in America for so long, my family came to think think that it’s okay to date and marry whoever you like. So what if your significant other is not Asian? If you love them, go ahead. But growing up Asian, Young Me was like, “I think I wanna marry an Asian. They seem successful, they’re pretty good looking, and if I’m around them a lot, chances are I’ll probably find the one.” Oh, if Young Me could see me now. I now think that I was being very shallow, but again, my school was 97% Asian so don’t blame myself too much for my narrow perspective.

So back to the boy who broke the heart of my twelve year old self. Honestly, you know what, fine. Go find a nice Asian woman. But guess what? If you find someone who is of a different race, one who you start to love, what are you going to do, drop the ball? That’ll never make you find the one. And sure, “the one” could be nice Chinese girl who can cook. But we never can predict that. We meet the people we meet because they were put into our lives to change it. What if White girl changes your life? What are you going to do? Say “Sorry, I need Chinese girl to change my life instead?” Yeah, see how many friends that gets you.

Also, finding someone who isn’t like you opens your eyes to so much more culture than you’d ever expect. I was exposed to Spanish/Mexican culture through my grandpa, but largely lost it after he passed away 14 years ago. Dating my boyfriend, who is Mexican, kind of reopened what had started when I was younger. And I've barely told anyone this, but I have never been happier to experience a culture like that, ever. Being Chinese has always just stuck with me. Experiencing Spanish culture again was so rewarding. And it still is.