German | Jamaican

Photo credit: provided by subject

I’m a strong believer in karma. What comes around goes around.

My parents met at a party in Hannover, Germany. My Dad was a soldier stationed in Hannover. Friends introduced them and this is how it started. My Mom went back to school to learn English to be able to talk to my family in England. She learned how to cook Jamaican food to impress my Grandmother. My Dad learned how to speak German too. But unfortunately my Mom’s family didn’t welcome him with open arms like my Dad’s family. For him it was very hard to adapt with the German culture. My mom fought very hard on her side. She stopped talking to a lot of family members. I learned the hard way that it is sometimes not so easy to be with a partner from a different culture. I always thought it didn't matter. But now I know better.

I used to hide my German part, never my Jamaican side. I was very proud to be Jamaican. But I have evolved in many ways and I started to love being mixed more and more.

It is definitely easier these days to be in an interracial relationship, and I think it’s good. Compared to my parents, I can’t even imagine how hard they had it. Because I only know 50% of what they told me. But I know it was hard. My Dad probably had it the hardest. He was struggling to get used to the German culture.

I grew up in Germany. I went through a lot of identity problems. No one on each side really accepted me, so I was between two chairs and didn’t know where I belonged. When I got older and learned more and more about myself I started not to care anymore. I visited Jamaica when I was really young but I remember I just loved the island. I am planning to go again.

I would love to be reborn as the same person as I am but change a few life decisions. To also tell myself at a young age not to care what other people think about being mixed-race. I think it’s important for the younger generation to know it’s fine to be mixed. Actually it is amazing. You have the chance to learn more than one language and take the benefits of two cultures.