I think I need to clarify my last post a little bit.
I want my daughter to be proud of who she is. I want her to be proud of her heritage.
Alyssa's school is very culturally diverse. My daughter has friends that are Asian, Mexican, Hmong, White, and Black. There culture is a part of who they are. But they have names. They are not the white girl, or the Asian girl or the Mexican girl. They are Allison, Natalie and (insert name here).
I want my daughter to be proud of the person she is. I want her to be proud that she is adopted, that she has a beautiful voice, that she is black.
I JUST DON'T WANT IT TO DEFINE HER!
Hope that makes a little more sense!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Clear as Mud?
Posted by Alyssa's Mom at 12:00 PM
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2 comments:
I understand... really. I know you are going to do the best. But the problem is, we as parents have no control over that "defining". Absolutely ZERO control. It's a part of identity that matters more and more as kids get older, and it's going to matter a lot, whatever we say and whatever we do. If you are not white, you don't get a choice about whether race/ethnicity matters. It just does.
The one thing we do have control over... helping steer kids so they can see their differences in a positive light, not a negative one. It's scary to have so little control, but it's really all that's left to work with.
If she knows that you and her father are proud of her then she will be proud of herself.
I just noticed that you became a follower of my blog. Now you're making ME proud. Thanks - but I've already got a big head.
Seriously, thank you - I am truly/honesty honored.
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