What were the advantages and challenges of growing up biracial?
Advantages — none, unless being called pretty and having people constantly remind you that you have “good hair” is an advantage [laughs]. I didn’t receive any scholarships for it nor did it feel like anyone opened any special doors for me.
When you are young, you do not know how or where to fit in, I knew that my skin was not white and it was not as dark as the other children so I just looked for those that looked like me. Unfortunately, when I was young it was not that many so I just tried to be accepted. Though I was able to make friends with children that were different shades, I eventually hung out with mainly black kids. By the time I was in college my peers would tell me that I looked biracial but acted blacker than some of their black friends. I never understood that statement but I never made to much fuss about it either, it’s crazy what some feel it is OK to say.
I never knew my Filipino heritage growing up because most of my family was still in the Philippines, so it was never a culture that I identified with until I got older. Now I know more, I have been back home twice; I’m in constant contact with my family and I’m teaching my son about our other culture.
How do your feelings about multiracialism differ from when you were a child?
It’s so much more accepted now, so I’m not even sure if people feel any kind of a way at all. When you go to the mall you almost see more multiracial families than anything else. I am more confident in myself because I understand that all of my ethnicities make me even more unique! I have a pride in who I am and I do not shy away from that! I believe that it is my duty to continue to instill that sense of pride in my son, who is also biracial (Jamaican, Filipino, Native American and African American). It is my duty to help him understand that the ‘uniqueness’ that he possesses makes him awesome and that it is not a crutch to lean on!
