Austrian | Nigerian
My Mum is from Austria, and my Dad is from Nigeria, they met each other in the beautiful city that is Vienna. Being close to my Mum and having mainly White friends definitely affected how I felt about myself. I thought of myself as Austrian and that I fitted in perfectly. But I remember well that my Dad tried to bring me to Nigerian community meet-ups for me to get closer to his heritage and Nigerian culture. We’d very often listen to Nigerian music in the car, I used to love that. I’m quite lucky that there were hardly any moments during my childhood where I had to face racism. There might only be a handful of incidents I remember. Since moving to London I’ve definitely connected more with African cultures and appreciate the beauty of my heritage. I’m so proud to be half Nigerian and I’m embracing it much more. I enjoy going to events for the Black/BAME communities and feel I belong, even if I’ve not grown up in Africa. Since I’ve met my partner, a Ghanaian, in 2013, I’ve been wearing my natural hair out, after having straightened it from age 12 to 26, how crazy is that! We had our first child in May 2019 and I can’t wait to raise her being proud of where she comes from, not hiding any of her Austrian, Nigerian or Ghanaian background. Living in London my mix is just one of so many interesting and beautiful mixes. Sometimes I get on the bus and I could be the person with the lightest skin, noticeable at first, but nothing out of the ordinary in London. I love that. I treat other people with the same openness that I would expect, and I’m inspired by people who proudly showcase their routes with their clothing, jewellery, make-up etc. Whenever I go back to Vienna now to visit family and friends I’m more ‘brave’ to also be out and about with African print, or a headwrap for example. Even if I might get some weird looks. I believe in reincarnation. The world will only become more and more diverse I think so who knows, how about half Turkish, half Australian?
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