what will i be today?

check one

• caucasian
• african american
• asian
• native american
• polynesian
• hispanic

everytime i get a job, everytime i do something for school, everytime i fill out one of these forms... i get to pick my race. pick one. not two. pick one.

the problem is i'm not a single race. my mom is from japan. my dad's ancestors come from all over europe (with a little pilgrim/native american hanky-panky along the side). which do i choose? which should i identify myself with? what will i be today?

usually i choose caucasian. sure it benefits me less, but when i wake up in the morning thats what i feel like i am. i look in the mirror and see some white kid staring back at me. i dress white. i talk white. i live white. yet, i'm not white. i get reminded from friends and family that i'm not white. i'm asian. i was raised with japanese culture. i love japanese food. i sometimes look japanese. i understand japanese. i use chopsticks.

if i can mark caucasian when i'm not or mark asian when i'm not, why can't i mark polynesian when i'm not? if i'm not any particular race, why can't i be whatever race i want to be. one of the greatest compliments i recieved was when i was in hawaii and someone asked me if i was local. this was asked by a tahitian friend of mine. i looked polynesian (dark and fat). i spoke like one. i dressed and acted like one. i pretty much wanted to be one. why couldn't i be one?

i've got asian and european genes in my blood, but what does that say about who i am? how does that define me? why should i care?

check one

• caucasian
• african american
• asian
• native american
• polynesian
• hispanic

i choose

• none