My Racial Identity
I first realized my outward identity when I was in kindergarten. I went to a Disney Princess party dressed as Aurora, since I thought she was the prettiest princess. When I arrived, my two blonde-hair, blue-eyed best friends told me that I couldn’t be Aurora, and that I had to change to Pocahontas. Inwardly, I didn’t see myself as different. Being of mixed race, I never identified more of one than the other, and I always felt that I fit in perfectly with my peers and classmates. That changed when I realized that I was seen as a dark-skin, brown-eyed, and dark-haired girl; a Filipino. To the people I grew up with, I looked different. But because of the fact that I was also half white, I only experienced the social implications of being Filipino, and never the educational implications. Despite the occasional social setbacks of being biracial, the education system took to my race kindly, and I have been offered experiences and opportunities
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I received a quality high school education and continued into a college education. I feel that my two intersecting races will never become just one racial identity for me. I prefer to view them as separate influences on the identity that I have. While my white background has allowed me to benefit from many white privileges, I had the outside Filipino aspect which benefited me by teaching me how to fully take advantage of the privileges and opportunities offered to me. It is difficult to understand why education affects people differently, but by evaluating one’s identity, it can be understood how their perceived identity can affect them socially, and how that in turn can affect their education. It is different for people with different identities, but personally, the different cultural and social aspects of my identity have given me the tools to benefit from the United States’ society and education
I received a quality high school education and continued into a college education. I feel that my two intersecting races will never become just one racial identity for me. I prefer to view them as separate influences on the identity that I have. While my white background has allowed me to benefit from many white privileges, I had the outside Filipino aspect which benefited me by teaching me how to fully take advantage of the privileges and opportunities offered to me. It is difficult to understand why education affects people differently, but by evaluating one’s identity, it can be understood how their perceived identity can affect them socially, and how that in turn can affect their education. It is different for people with different identities, but personally, the different cultural and social aspects of my identity have given me the tools to benefit from the United States’ society and education