My Mom and my Dad are both white and I have always had tan skin with brown hair. Because of this everyone has always assumed I was adopted and I got annoyed having to always tell people otherwise. As I grew older, I began to wonder why I looked nothing like my parents, but I immediately shut down any suspicions I had because I thought it would be crazy if what I had always been told by my parents wasn’t the truth and there would be no explanation for it. I remember since elementary asking my Mom continuously why I had such tan skin and she didn’t, but I never got a clear answer. In 8th grade, I was finally told that my Dad wasn’t biologically related to me. I was very shocked by this, not because I couldn’t believe it, but because I had been told otherwise my entire life. Although the more shocking part was that my biological father was a “family friend” I grew up with and was very close to. This was an awkward adjustment to my relationship with him. But since then I have learned a lot about how I am half Puerto Rican and have learned about his life and culture growing up. This has become a more recent, but very important part of my identity. 

 

To me it seems that there is always an image I must uphold in all groups that I represent. In my family, I represent my mom and dad who raised me. I represent them by showing respect to everyone, using good manners, and especially living by the strong core values I was taught growing up. A lot of people often feel that they must follow the same pathway as their parents, but in my family the way I represent my parents is by staying true to myself and following the path that works best for me as long as I can find happiness. I represent my school, specifically the class of 22’ and the lacrosse team. There is always the expectation that I will set goals, maintain good grades, and respect and help all my classmates. For me I feel that school is a very important image to uphold inside and outside the classroom. If I do something disrespectful, I am still representing my class and sports teams and anyone who sees that might judge my other classmates based off my actions. I am not religious in any way regardless of the fact that my mom is Christian. I have been raised to follow my own path, decide my own beliefs, and respect everyone regardless of their religion or beliefs. Another way that I represent my family and my community is through political beliefs. Regardless of age it is always important to be educated on politics and current events/issues so that I can help stand up for what is right in my community. Our generation is the generation that make a big change moving forward and it is important to start now. I think I greatly represent my community, family, friends, school, and beliefs by standing up for racial equality, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, climate change, etc. Activism is one of the biggest parts of my identity that I am very proud of and will always continue. Although sometimes I feel that I have let certain people down by following different pathways, I know that I represent them in a bigger way, and that’s by following what is right for myself.