Should I write my college essay about my experiences with being a mixed-race girl, or is it too run-of-the-mill? I’m half Asian, half Caucasian. I was the only mixed race girl in my elementary school, one of two mixed race girls in middle school, and then went to an international school for high school. My town is predominantly white.
I was the only one I knew who celebrated Chinese New Year. In my hometown, I couldn’t identify as white because they see me as Asian. I’m the only Asian girl in my church, in sports, pretty much everything.
I go to Hawaii every summer because all my relatives are there, my mom grew up there. In Hawaii, the majority of people are Asian, but I can’t identify with them because they see me as white. People there have asked me how I my skin is so light, whereas in my hometown my friends ask me how I stay so tanned.
Ultimately I love being mixed-race, even though I can’t identify with a specific group of people. I’m a hapa-haole (in Hawaiian). My mother taught me Cantonese words, my father taught me German words. I’ve gotten two amazing cultures with two histories that I love to learn about.