Before the election of last year this would have been a risky topic to address as racial issues most always are. But now more than ever, people have been discussing racial relations, not necessarily in regards to racism, but just the relations between different races in general. For the first time in US history we’ve seen a minority president elected for office. A well educated, well qualified man of black and white is now the leader of the free world. As a person of mixed ethnicity myself, my mother is from Iran and my father is Hatian and Italian, I fully understand the appreciation that comes along with having our first black president. In a way it shows that racial relations are improving in our nation.

Race is just not something I understood as a child. I had a very mixed family background and as far as I was concerned there was no “race” except human. I had a mother who looked white, but spoke with a heavy middle eastern accent and a father who looked black and spoke in very articulate manner similar to President Obama. I myself had light brown skin, curly long hair and freckles, needless to say I looked Spanish. I am an American, born in Gainesville, FL not far from where my father graduate from the University of Florida. All the time People would ask me “what are you?” and by the age of 7 I developed my own smart, little answer, “human,” I would reply. Usually that shut them up. It wasn’t that I was insulted or hurt, I just didn’t understand why I had to tell people what race my parents were. In my mind, that wasn’t who I was or what I was. I was human, I was my own race. Weren’t we all classified as humans?

Now an educated, professional in my twenties I tend to approach the question a little less curt. I still get the question, “what are you?” and I know that I probably always will. But now I understand. I’ve had friends who grew up in an all white household their whole life in some small town in TN and that’s all they knew. I see how it can be hard for them to understand how a woman from Iran met a Hatian/Italian man in the US and fell in love. Just like my background is different so is theirs, and I respect that. In the end, it’s all about respect. Respect for your fellow man/human. Whatever they may be.

After being told that I looked Spanish my whole life, I can honestly say that in a way I began to resent it. I noticed that when people started talking to me in Spanish without asking if I spoke Spanish, I would just let them talk, and then when they were finished I would almost proudly announce that “I don’t speak Spanish.” But this began to get pretty negative reactions, once a lady even told me I was lying, she told me that I have to speak Spanish. I guess my look is that convincing. Resentment doesn’t help anyone, my smart remarks didn’t help our racial relations, it only made things worse. I understand now that it is not easy for them either. I look Hispanic, people always mistake me for someone who speaks Spanish even thought technically I’m not Spanish at all. Sometimes I wish that our eyes did not see people in color, we all bleed, we all cry and we all die. We are all humans, the only race we should be concerned about is our race to the finish line. Death is inevitable so live well and live right.