British | Ghanaian
I know that both my parents were born and raised in Britain, but my Dad’s parents came here from Ghana to start a new life. Often when I meet new people one of the first things they ask is where I’m from. It makes me proud to say I’m half Ghanaian. It doesn’t bother me when they ask as it’s pretty obvious from my skin colour and hair that I have different heritage.
My role model is Maya Angelou. I’m able to understand the discrimination and prejudice she experienced. My parents named me after her because she was a strong independent Black woman, and that’s what I aspire to be every day. Coincidentally, we were quite similar in the things we enjoy, as she made a living out of her passion for writing, which is what I hope to do one day. We also both enjoy singing.
We celebrate some of our cultures at home but probably not as much as we should do. We see our cousins quite a lot but not so much of our Grandma, as she’s often traveling back to Ghana and to my Aunt’s in Florida. She prefers the weather, it’s always too cold in the UK according to her. We all love peanut soup, fufu and my favourite Jollof rice.
When it comes to my cultures I like the fact that I have these two sides that go together to make me, and they go together to make me a well-rounded person.
My parents talk a lot about their cultures, I feel like I have a good understanding of both of them and I understand where I come from. I’d like to go to Ghana soon though, so I can experience it for myself, my cousins went last year and loved it!