A Little About Me

I come from a divided family. My Mom is Native American and my Dad is African American. Excluding a few family members, I have never been fully accepted by my Mom's side of the family. A lot of her family does not like the fact that I am mixed, but seem to overlook the fact that two of my cousins are half Israeli (They are not considered mixed). It hurts when you are looked at funny just because your skin is lighter than the rest of your population, or because your hair may be the envy of all the girls. Or even when you are banished from a friend's house because their parents do not approve of who I am... It hurts. I think what hurts most is when you feel as though your only friends are the Hispanics, Asians, and any other race that you are NOT a part of. I thought people were just people, and that the world agreed. Even in Today's society, that is obviously not the case.

When it comes to my history of abuse, it started when I was around 5 or 6. My mom was in a very dangerous relationship and I had to witness things I would have rather seen in a movie and been able to say "I'm thankful I never had to go through that!", but I know now that I can do something with my story. My mom was also abusive when I was younger up until about the age of 11. Her temper was nothing you wanted to witness and her strength would shock most anybody. But her words... they did the most damage. I never wanted to see that side of my mom.

It wasn't until I was older that I realized her ways of disciplining and dealing with her anger towards me, were all things she had carried from her childhood into her parenting. My mom was abused in every way possible. She knew nothing different. Now, she is the best mom I could have ever asked for. She allowed me to have a voice in the family, to tell her how I feel, to express the hurt I had from the years that she was possessed with another person. She broke the chain in our family. She keeps communication open. She loves us unconditionally.

The above paragraphs are just my past. But out there, it is someone's present, and will be someone's future.

[I Dare You To Speak...]