Which Box Do You Select Regarding Your Ethnicity?

As a child, I always felt different from my peers. I think those feelings of insecurity and unease stemmed from both the fact that I am an only child, and I am the daughter of a biracial marriage. My mom moved to the USA at the age of 19 from Japan and my dad is an American born of mixed English and Italian heritage. My parents met in New Jersey one summer during college while they were working in a restaurant. I have always been the "apple of their eye" - an adored and well-loved child responsible for the hopes and dreams her parents wanted her to achieve.

For me though, the normal difficulties I experienced growing up were compounded by my multiple ethnicities and my appearance of somehow being "different." Though my parents loved me and I had a pleasant childhood, I never truly felt like I belonged anywhere. There were never any neighborhood kids who were similar to me, and as a child, I always felt stigmatized by my heritage. I cannot even count the number of times some person has asked me "where I am from" and "how long have I been in this country?" It was not until college that I met a student who was "like me." Scott was half-Japanese and half-German. Though we did not talk about our heritage too much, it was enough for me to know that he existed, because for awhile I thought I was the only one. Finally, there was another person who knew what it was like not to be fully Asian-American or fully Caucasian-American even though we were both raised as Americans. During college, I also had more of a chance to fit in - my peers were so busy trying to find themselves that they were not too concerned about me.