Dutch | Vincentian
I would identify myself as a straight Dutch/Caribbean girl who believes in someone who does good things will receive good things back. I am interested in Buddhism and Shintoism. The path of different gods is something I believe in, but I don’t believe in the fact that they made the world. So you could say I believe in science. My Mom is a typical Dutch woman who is originally from Amsterdam but was growing up in Aerdenhout. My Dad is a nice and funny Caribbean man who grew up in St. Vincent. They met in the kitchen where both my Mom and Dad worked.
I don’t know if I really have a positive experience. It sounds weird but I got a lot of compliments about my complexion but that doesn’t feel positive to me. I think the positive thing about being mixed-race is being raised as a bilingual child, having advantages in learning new languages and making yourself understandable in different countries.
I have faced challenges based around my identity. I never really belonged somewhere. I am always the mixed kid in the crowd. I grew up in a small town where we had 5 Black kids in school. Two of them were my sister and me. My sister got bullied a lot because of her complexion. I didn't really get bullied a lot but I was more of an attraction to the Moms of the children in the class. It was cool having a different coloured friend at a birthday party. So I was mostly invited to people their birthday for being different. I always felt sad about hearing comments about being put down in the sun too much or if I fell in poop when I was a baby. Now I am 24 and still don’t feel Dutch neither Caribbean. I am too White to be Black but to Black to be White. So I try to make the best out of it. And I am a proud Caribbean mixed woman but I still feel sad that sometimes you just don’t belong.
If I would be born again I would love to be born as a mixed child again. It’s sometimes hard because you don’t really fit in both cultures, but you are also a fact of love. Love that doesn’t stop by colour of skin or religion.
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