Cycle Of Socialization Analysis

719 Words3 Pages
Cycle of Socialization I was born in this world as a human being. However, while I was born a human other characteristics somehow define what type of human I am, including my race. I am biracial, but the identity I choose to speak about today is my blackness. Born into this world as a “light skin, blasian” baby from a Cape Verdean father and a Filipino mother, growing up my mom never really paid much attention to race. Although, indirectly there was always expectations of hers that were seen as “good” such as straight hair, light skin, etc. My dad, on the other hand, set a strong model on how to be. Being a social justice advocate and black man, he always made it a point to tell me things such as “don’t say ‘ain’t’ outside the house” or “you…show more content…
School was the main place where I felt most conscious of it. I began to realize that I was the only person of color in each classroom I entered, every school I went to, and every friend group I had. I watched different television shows, I looked up to different people, and as I got older, I interpreted the news differently than many of my peers. The defining moment where I realized I was different was when my classmates and I were watching the Ruby Bridges movie, regarding racial segregation within U.S. school systems. In the middle of the movie, my fifth grade teacher pulled me out of class because she thought I looked “disturbed and upset,” as if none of the other students were capable of feeling the same way. At that moment, I realized even though I thought I was the same, acted like I was the same, and overall was the same as my peers- I was not in others eyes. Where I am from, I am not biracial nor am I Cape Verdean and Filipino. I am simply…show more content…
I spoke properly and clearly, studied harder, performed better than everyone else, and did everything I needed to do to be liked as well as accepted. To be honest, it worked. I was the town’s trophy black girl, the “expectation” to my race. I was awarded as such as well- graduating as not only salutatorian of my high school, but earning a whooping 13 scholarships from my town. Yet, after I walked off the stage of my awards night I was told “You know you’re success here will really make other African American students feel welcome to come here, too. You’re a stand up role model for them.” While there is a genuine compliment somewhere in this statement, there still was the thought in the back of my head wondering if I was being rewarded at such a high caliber for being an exceptional “exception.” Was I being rewarded for my achievements or for keeping to the status

More about Cycle Of Socialization Analysis

Open Document