Personal Narrative: The Differences In My Life

Ever since I was two years old, people would shoot confused looks at me whenever I went grocery shopping with my mom. When I go to Chinese restaurants, instead of being asked what I would like to eat, I am greeted by a waiter’s stare as he or she tries to decipher my past by simply looking at the differences between my eyes and my dad’s. These types of situations where people question my life due to the physical differences between my parents and myself have occurred for as long as I can remember. Although I originally thought that, as I got older, people would eventually stop creating false presumptions about my family. However, I discovered that no matter how old I get, the fact that I have a different shade of skin than my parents will always …show more content…
A few weeks ago, I was walking around in town with my dad. Since it was freezing cold, we decided to stop into a bakery in an attempt to warm up for a little while. The bakery was empty but for one woman; she was sitting at a table in the corner by herself. As I was browsing the glass cases of desserts, out of nowhere, the woman pointed at me and asked, “Who is she?” My dad, taken by surprise, turned towards the woman, but before he managed to slip a single word out, the woman continued: “Is she your,” she paused, the physical differences between my dad and myself utterly baffling, “friend?” My dad replied, “She’s my daughter.” The woman replied, “Oh, she’s your… daughter,” stumbling on every word as her eyes tormented her mouth. After leaving the store, my dad stopped walking and looked me dead in the eyes as his lips turned into a thin line. He didn’t utter a single word; he just nodded his head and we continued down the frozen …show more content…
I also believe that another reason why I don’t feel affected by “Oh, she’s your daughter”’s is because I’m unaware of how to respond. Not only is it incredibly awkward when people realize I’m not my parents’ “friend”, but people have burning questions they want to ask, yet they know they can’t since it would come off as nosy. I can’t really defend myself either since race is such a sensitive topic. So, I find myself stuck in this endless cycle of one uncomfortable confrontation after another and not being able to do anything about