If you didn’t know, I’m Hispanic. Very Hispanic. If you look at my DNA test I had done, I’m about 72% from Indigenous Americas/Mexico. However, if I were ever to be seen standing near my family, the average person would probably not assume we were related in any way. I was adopted from birth to the wonderful family I have now, who all just happen to be very white. My mom and I think it’s funny when people are surprised that the little red headed lady is my mom. We all definitely look strikingly different from one another. Since they are all the family I have ever known, and I’ve known I was adopted since I was very young, the fact that they are not my biological family doesn’t upset me at all, and it never has.
However, like the story told in Kimmy the Pooh’s twitter thread, there have been times in my life where I wished I hadn’t looked like and identified as who I was. Being teased for your race or ethnicity is not fun, and I certainly can attest to that. I have been called names and teased for what I look like and what people have assumed about me based on my looks. Many times, these insults catch me off guard. Being raised in a white household has definitely blinded my own self to, at least genetically, who I am.
Kind of like Kimmy Pooh, as I grow older, I have begun to explore the kind of culture that I would have experienced had I not been adopted. As I accept myself as I grow older, this journey has become more meaningful, and exciting, and my wonderful adoptive family supports me in any rediscovery of my heritage that I want to explore, and I hope to continue so I can have it to pass on to any family I may have.