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Your Roots- Being Human

 
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I couldn't stop thinking about this, so I decided I would like to share it with you all.

Being human. I guess it is pretty cool, eh? We're all humans, I think- no secret aliens from a galaxy far away.

I get asked what country I am from more often than I expect to be at school. It is interesting to hear where some people think I am from. I love to watch Doctor Who and have been for many years. I grew up in Louisiana. So, I have an accent that sounds somewhat British with a slight Southern drawl from what people tell me. From my perspective, I am normal. I hear myself talk all day long, and I sound American to myself. Recently, one of my friends, who I have known for sometime, was surprised today because he thought I was Croatian the entire time. I find the ambiguity that people have when trying to identify me entertaining and as a compliment. I like to confuse people. I do not like being labelled. My family tree is a mess. The farthest I can go back without getting confused listening to my relatives is to my great-grandparents. I am part Cherokee, part Czechoslovakian, tons parts various European groups, and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember.

Kinda funny, I guess, but I feel simplified and reduced when I have to fill out forms that ask, what is your ethnicity? I don't particularly identify with with any ethnic group, and it seems a dramatic oversimplification to just say "white". It neglects the diversity of who I am. I am always tempted to claim myself in those forms as "other". I don't know what other, but none of the given categories seem sufficient. If I moved o the tropics and became tan, what would my ethnicity be then? I don't know if I even can tan, so far, all I have are freckles!

Would listing my ethnicity as "human" be good enough? I wish it was. I so wish it was. I hate being simplified.

Another thing that surprised me recently was a few people at school thought I was transgender, and I was tempted to say yes to just see how they would react. Some people think I am gay or bi, but I really don't know because I am too busy to care who I like. As long as people are kind and share similar views, pragmatically, i don't see why gender should matter in who I like.

It is kinda hard for me to understand people's biases because of my hardcore pragmatism and utilitarian views, but I fail to see why my gender, sexuality, and/or ethnicity matter. I don't care where other people are from, as long as they're nice people. Why do groups and backgrounds matter so much? It confuses me.
 
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