Passing

I'm in danger of having an identity crisis. You see, I think I'm black/Choctaw/Irish, but apparently no one else seems to think so. In fact, many people think I'm Latino.

I have to admit that the dazed look that comes across my face whenever the temperature gets high (as it did this weekend) doesn't help matters much. I went to Blockbuster and the clerk greeted me in Spanish. All I could answer with was a simple "uh...?"(Humidity gets to me.) The same thing happened at McDonald's where again I was greeted in Spanish. At XES, I had a great conversation with a guy who grew up in Westchester and Puerto Rico. He then asked how I felt growing up Latino in Wisconsin.

I wonder sometimes if I should try to pass as Latino, but I think that passing in this day in age is unnecessary (or at least it should be). Then again, I realise that I have spent a lot of my life passing as different things: in my late teens, I claimed that I was bisexual because it seemed to be more acceptable than being full-out gay; I've passed as single when I wasn't; I've passed as being part of a couple when I wasn't; I still identify myself as a playwright even though I've had no productions outside of school.

What's odd is that I really am proud of myself and my components. I'm proud of being gay. I'm proud of my ethnicities. I'm proud that I do write even though I don't have any productions [yet]. I don't feel the need to assert any of these things on a daily basis. I express my pride in my sexuality at Pride. I express my pride in my ethnicities on St. Patrick's Day and MLK Day. I express my pride as a playwright whenever I finish a play and like the end result.

So let the rest of the world think what they will.