The term biracial can be defined as anyone who is made up of two different races. I am indeed biracial, and I'm slowly learning how to understand myself. Being biracial is not a bad thing, in fact, it's something I pride myself for being. I'm a minority of a minority, which sounds kind of cool if you ask me. But it hasn't always been easy, and it probably never will be. As a kid, I never looked at myself differently or compared my skin tone to anyone else's. I never questioned my identity because I didn't have to. But it seems that the older I get, the more I realize how far we still have to go in a society that doesn't always understand races and ethnicities.

Being biracial has brought many issues to my attention, mostly because they are issues I face in everyday life. I do not want to complain, because I am more than grateful for who I am today, but I do want to shed some light in hopes more people could understand where I'm coming from.

One of the most annoying things I hear most frequently is "you're acting too white", or "that's your black side coming out", I even get comments like "you don't even look black"... Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but what exactly would you like me to do? Act in a way that would please you? Suppress my culture? Act unlike myself? From someone who is very seasoned in hearing things like that, it's inappropriate and very ignorant. With that, I know usually they don't mean it and they aren't trying to offend me, but honestly, how would you feel if you were constantly questioned about your race? I'm telling you, after a while, it gets very old.

Second, I am always asked which parent is which race. Why does it matter? It doesn't change or benefit anything or anyone to know otherwise. It honestly shouldn't change anything.

Lastly, race questions on documents. I definitely do not mind telling anyone what my race is, that's not the issue. I only have a problem when I'm asked about an important document about my race and it says "Please chose one". Why am I only allowed to circle one? There are plenty of people on this world who are more than just one race, in fact, most people I know are more than just "white, black or Hispanic". I understand putting every single race would be too much, but I've come to appreciate the "more than one race" option more than ever these days.

Now that I have ranted, I want to again say that I am by no means complaining about who I am or where I came from. I just want to express that there are some things we as a society need to work on. We need to educate and inform people on etiquette and manners with regards to race and ethnicity. After all, most of us are all just Americans anyway, we're not really that different.