My life has been nothing short of amazing. Do not let the hardships and heartbreaks deceive you, I have had a great life. I was never without love, an outstretched hand or a warm bed, therefore, I have had it better than ⅔ of the 7 billion people in the world, and for that I am forever grateful. When I was 6 someone asked me why I didn't look like my parents, why they had fair skin and I had dark skin. Even from a young age my friends would ask me, where I was from, where my real parents were and why they left me, why I was so different than everyone else around me. I had two parents just like everyone else, they seemed pretty real to me, so I didn't see the problem. But, the questions lingered and I realized that every other kid in my class looked like their mom, or their dad and they had a brother or a sister that looked like them too. …show more content…
Being African-American in a predominantly white community, was not exactly the ideal situation for a 6 year old girl. I would hear things like, “ Why does everyone have white skin and Kyra has dark skin, is it because she's bad?”, or my teachers would say, “ It's okay to be different, look at Kyra, she's different!”. If it was so okay to be different, why was I treated worse or looked down upon because of the thing that made me different? It was not long before I realized that I was different because I was not biologically connected to both of my parents. Saying someone is adopted was always the punch-line of a joke, a way to tell someone they are lesser than another, because their real parents didn't want them. So I made up every excuse in the book to hide the fact that I was both African American and
... struggled to find out who they really were. A majority of adoption records were kept sealed and made it next to impossible for these now native adults to uncover who there true families were. This left many native children and adults feeling as if they did not belong. These children were not able to form their own true identity but rather they were forced to live the lives they were adopted into and create identities based on what there new parents wanted. Identity is defined as being oneself, and in the end these native men and women were not allowed to be themselves, therefore they were never given the right to a true identity.
Thesis Statement: Society often forces biracial and multicultural people to identify themselves with one ethnic group by denying other part of their ethnic background. An analysis of the many scientific studies, literature, and art reveals the complexities of growing up with parents of different races. The American tendency to prefer lighter skin effects how biracial children form their identities and often causes them to deny their black heritage.
My parents were proud of being African American Guyanese immigrants, and they often speak about their grandparents who were Portuguese, British, and from St. Vincent. My parent’s sibling didn’t all look alike and their ancestors didn’t either and I never once heard them speak badly about them being lighter or darker. In fact, my father would boast about having ancestors that are White, Spanish and Indian. Gaining a sense of ethnic and racialized self both worked in my favor and against me. I live in a neighborhood surrounded by many different ethnicity, nationalities, and race. Along the years it changed, less and less Caucasian people lived in the neighborhood. I was raised around people of many different racial identity and ethnicities, this allowed me to accept them because I was exposed as an adolescent. My parents shared friends of various races in which they spoke highly about and they never instilled in me that I shouldn’t accept a certain race. However, I wish they taught me how to deal with those that are not so accepting of African
I wanted to wear brand clothes/shoes they did, I wanted to do my hair like them, and make good grades like them. I wanted to fit in. My cultural identify took a back seat. But it was not long before I felt black and white did not mix. I must have heard too many comments asking to speak Haitian or I do not look Haitian, but more than that, I am black, so I always had to answer question about my hair or why my nose is big, and that I talked white. This feeling carried on to high school because the questions never went away and the distance between me and them grew larger. There was not much action my family could take for those moments in my life, but shared their encounters or conversations to show me I was not alone in dealing with people of other background. I surrounded myself with less white people and more people of color and today, not much has
One of the most destructive forces that is destroying young black people in America today is the common cultures wicked image of what an realistic black person is supposed to look like and how that person is supposed to act. African Americans have been struggling for equality since the birth of this land, and the war is very strong. Have you ever been in a situation where you were stereotyped against?
...nce is that blacks aren't trying to make me to be black. They just want to make sure that I don't forget about that side of me.
In conclusion growing up with an ethnic background was pretty hard; I did not get ridiculed for looking different or doing things differently. There was when I had to assimilate to be accepted in a new town because I did not want to be known as a nerd if I played with the Asian kids instead when I was at school I adapted and changed my beliefs and played with the White kids to feel accepted. But, the hardest part was not in the social atmosphere it comes when it came to my parents. My parents put up these social barriers to not allow me to expand out of my own race. Growing up I broke out of their chain and started to explore different friends and started to date people of other races.
As a child, I never really knew that there was anything different about having parents of two different races because that was the norm for me. But as I started getting older, there was confusion when my dad picked me up from school because friends had seen my mother the day before and she was white. There was never judgement, but they just sort of made me feel weird for something I’d never even considered a problem. Being biracial has shaped my life experience in many ways. It’s given me insight to the theme “don’t judge a book
As a kid, I didn’t understand what race meant or its implications. I was pretty much oblivious to it. Race meant getting some kids together and running a foot race. The one who made it to the end of the block won. I never felt that I was special because of my race. Nor did I feel discriminated against. Of course, I was sheltered from race and racism. I never knew any people of color because I grew up in an all-white, lower-to-middle-class blue-collar neighborhood. I never encountered someone of another race, and my parents made sure of it. I wasn’t allowed outside of our own neighborhood block, as my mother kept a strong leash on me. Not until I was much older did I wander outside the safety net of our all-white neighborhood.
I am not completely aware of race, however, I do see the world as we are there is very probable that I hold bias’s both within the Caucasian racial identity and outside of it as well. On the other hand, gender has been a predominate factor in my life, I have resisted the stereotypes of most female oriented jobs. I worked in factories as soon as my eighteenth birthday, I worked two jobs most of the time and never relied on a male for any support, I joined the Army, as the first female in my family to join the military. Also, choosing physically demanding employment opportunities. However, in the realm of income, I was always behind male counterparts, passed up for promotions, or laid-off first. Although, my paperwork always bragged about being
They felt it would affect them emotionally, physically, and psychologically. They would not know the total sense of who they were culturally. They stated “The family is the basic unit of society: one’s first most pervasive and only consistent culturing life experience. Humans develop their sense of values, identity, self- concept, attitudes, and basic perspective within the family group. Black children in white homes are cut off the healthy development of themselves as black people, which development is the normal expectations and only true humanistic goal.”
My perception of our world is that racism exists everywhere, even in the land of liberty, America. I am aware of the fact that there is racism against not only blacks, but also whites, Asians, along with people from all other ethnicities. I believe racism is deplorable in any form. Therefore I do my best not to be racist in any way.
It’s exhausting.” I’ve always been aware of my race since I was a little girl. My first language was Spanish which to this day has affected how I say certain things in English. I am also aware that there is more melanin shown on my skin that comes from my native ancestors from Mexico, Africa and Spain. With the knowledge that I have of my race and historical background, I had started to hide my true identity.
Wait. Be still. Don't go over the line. Don't let go. Wait for it. "BANG!" My reactions were precise as I sprung out of the blocks. The sun was beating down on my back as my feet clawed at the blistering, red turf. With every step I took, my toes sunk into the squishy, foul smelling surface, as my lungs grasped for air. Everything felt the way it should as I plunged toward my destination. I clutched the baton in my sweaty palms, promising myself not to let go. My long legs moved me as fast as I could go as I hugged the corner of the line like a little girl hugging her favorite teddy bear. The steps were just like I had practiced. As I came closer to my final steps, my stomach started twisting and my heart beat began to rise. The different colors of arrows started to pass under my feet, and I knew it was time.
First of all my life is wonderful and tremendous I would have to say. Although, every so often it turns dreadful, but I always manage to turn it around so I can be happy and joyful again. Even though, when I was younger my life wasn’t like it is today. I had to deal with enormous changes in my life to get it the way it is today. The biggest change had to deal with friendship.