Have you ever been asked the question, What are you? Well if I'm frankly honest if you are white or if you are black then you probably have never been asked this question. Some people think I am hispanic, some think I'm white with a tan. Some think I'm a light skinned black girl. I have been mistaken for different races many many times. The one time that stands out the most was when I was working at a nursing home. I was cleaning a residents room. She was wheelchair bound due to a car accident but in perfct sound mind is what the other employees told me. She looked at me and said "what are you?" This was on a Sunday morning and she was listening to a sermon on the radio so i assumed she meant my faith affiliation. I said "I'm Baptist i guess. I go to a Baptist church." She replied, "no i mean what are you?." I was confused and I guess it showed on my face because she started to say "are you black, mexican, or what?" I replied "I'm mixed. My mom is white and my dad is black." She stared and then said "you know I never liked when these colors started mixing." I politely removed myself and started cleaning the bathroom. She then followed in there and keep saying stuff. I finished my job and told the other employees who then said you cant pay her any attention. It's sad to know that we have to defined by the color of our skin, the twang in our voice, the texture and length of our hair. I want to be defined by my actions and the things I do. Not the way I look. I want to be known for the lives I touched and changed for the better...not because of the things that I can not control. I want to be defined as a child of God who has done and continues to do what she can for others because that is what God's expects her to do. Everyone was created in God's perfect image and perfectly made. I have come to realize that God defines me and his opinion of me is much stronger and way more important than anything. As long as I live for God everything else will fall into place and I will be defined in his eyes by what I did or did not do. Not by my looks.
