Irish | Yemeni
I grew up in West London. My Mum is Irish and my Dad is from Yemen. They met in London and had their first date in Hammersmith. I was born and raised in London and moved to Australia on my own in my twenties. I spent ten years there before recently returning. I'm a freelance Producer by trade and have a penchant for travel and culture.
I never really noticed I was different culturally growing up because I was lucky enough to go to a school, which was a melting pot for different ethnicities. We were taught from a young age about other people’s religions and to respect each other. I will always be grateful to my school for that. My friends and I used to call ourselves the United Colors of Benetton because none of us were the same. I’ve always had friends from all different parts of the world, so I don't specifically pick people based on culture. With regards to dating, I don't mind what background someone comes from as long as he or she has a desire to understand mine and respect the differences.
Growing up in a Western society while trying to uphold Middle Eastern views was hard and confusing, it actually made me reject certain parts of my heritage in order to fit in but living in a predominantly White area of Sydney's Eastern suburbs ironically made me reconnect with what I was moving away from. It made me realise how important it is to feel a sense of familiarity and I found myself naturally gravitating towards the indigenous culture and other areas in Sydney that had an ethnic influence. I am very much a mixture and denying any part of that is not good for the soul.
Some ignorant people who have not been exposed to other cultures have made comments, but I've quickly determined that they are not the kind of people I want to spend time with. I'm lucky because I usually get a good response when I tell people my mix, they seem more intrigued than anything and I could play the guessing game for hours. To be honest, a lot of people I tell have never even heard of Yemen, except when Chandler mentions it on Friends. Seriously.
If I were to be born again I wouldn't change a thing, I love being mixed race.
Whether people like it or not globalisation has already happened to a degree so there are a lot more mixes and beautiful beings with an understanding of two cultures around. We will most likely be the bridges between cultures and hopefully, overturn the newly found segregation coming about. We are all the same at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what colour your skin is or where you come from.