Hungarian | Nigerian
My Mum is Hungarian and my Dad is Nigerian. Dad went to Hungary and saw my Mum on the street, one thing led to another. They allowed me to value the things that actually matter to me like family time and me time, but also allowed me to roughly plan my next steps. I wouldn't say I hid my culture but I did not embrace it. When growing up, after my parents split, I would completely separate my two cultural backgrounds. Now, I definitely combine both of them. When I was younger I would refer to myself as 'Black', even though I am mixed-race. I did this because my friendship groups were 90% Black and also because there wasn't space (there isn't much space now) to identify as both Black and White. It made me feel like I wasn't being who I truly am, I felt a little embarrassed about being half White.
When I was younger there was a group of other kids who were also half Nigerian/Hungarian. Now that I am older, I do not know anyone who is of that mix. It can make me feel alienated at times but I don't think much about it. In London, people are a lot more accepting and don't question, or are shocked, about where you come from. Abroad, there is still a long way to go as there is a lot of fascination about mixed people.
If I had the opportunity to be reborn I would return as I am today, I love the way I am and who I am. Having two different cultural backgrounds just means you might need more time finding the right balance for you of who you are.
Every system has to change to tackle racial inequality e.g. the justice system, education system. We definitely need to accept all sides, even though they are polar opposites at times, and find a way to gel the cultural backgrounds together, which is very hard in (a) a racially divided society, and (b) in a society which has no space for mixed-race people.
Sign up to Patreon or Subscribe to our website to read more stories