Italian | Chinese

Photo credit: provided by subject

My Dad is Italian and my Mom is Venezuelan-born Chinese. They met in Caracas through my maternal Uncle, who played tennis with my Dad. My first memories include eating salami and mortadella as well as going out to dim sum and having baozi and tofu! I also grew up speaking Italian, Chinese, Spanish and Cantonese. I think growing up in a multicultural household has made me much more open to people from other cultures. I’ve always been quite proud of my origins and am happy to explain them to anyone who asks (politely)!

I don’t think any of my Grandparents could have ever even conceived of marrying a person from another culture. I think my views align pretty well with my parents, I don’t care where a person is from as long as they’re a good person!

Growing up was definitely a challenge, as I had to reconcile how I thought of myself versus how others perceived me. I’ve since realized that what others think of me does not invalidate how I identify as. 

The positives are truly endless, being born into the cultures that I was has afforded me so many opportunities, if which I’m very thankful of. I’m proud to say that I’ve been to all of my ancestral homelands! My outlook has never changed, but my attitude towards other people has. When I was younger, I cared very much about how other people saw me and as a result was very defensive of my identity. Now, I’m much more secure in myself and don’t let other people’s opinions affect how I see myself. I think it will change as I get older, for the better, I hope! I’m a student so I don’t work yet, but I would say my university environment is very inclusive!

If I had the opportunity to be reborn I would want to return as myself. I sincerely wouldn’t change a thing about my upbringing or how I am today.