English | Sri Lankan
I identify as mixed-race, gay and not religious. My mother is from a sleepy village in Norwich, UK, my father is originally from the northern tip of Sri Lanka, having emigrated to India at a young age. Both of my parents made a concerted effort to never have South Asia too far from their children's minds. We very often ate South Indian food, we had furniture and knick-knacks from that part of the world, we talked about and practiced yoga and meditation. My parents worked hard to afford us an education in which we learnt about the Bhagavad Gita and were taught Sanskrit. I want being mixed to be its own category, that co-exists alongside all of our cultural backgrounds, without encroaching on their space. In a way, I see being mixed as its own kind of 'culture'. As a subset of people, we have so much in common, so much to communally celebrate. I'm really thankful to live in a world where a project like this, which is unashamed in its celebration of mixed-race people, not only exists, but is thriving. We are a big part of the future, it's about time people started to see us for who we are - people whose existence continues to be revolutionary. Being mixed in today’s society is getting better, it has been getting incrementally better as we as a society eschew our biases and strive to find our commonalities. I think being mixed-race is still revolutionary - it's a sign of a globalising world in which two people looked past race, ethnic background, language & culture and entered into loving union and produced offspring. We are symbols of unity. Symbols of shared humanity - it's beautiful! The next step is for us as a community of mixed-race people to find friends and confidantes in each other, recognise that we do belong, and that all the growing pains associated with having a 'mixed' identity have just been part of becoming the new normal. If I had the opportunity to be reborn I'd return as myself, every single time. I am who I am because of the difficulties I've faced. I wouldn't ever seek to change that.
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