"You don't act your race/age/etc etc."

This was always a weird issue for me growing up, especially racially speaking. I'm mixed race (Half Scottish, half Iranian) so it was always a bit strange. Like people were saying, there are so many stereotypes and opinions on how a certain race "should act".

The difference with me was, I don't fit into any of the categories. And at first that may seem like a good thing, because it allows to me to have some choice without being scrutinized for it, it wasn't always a good thing.

See, people get uncomfortable when they cant pigeon-hole you, so it was like no matter what I did, someone wasn't going to be happy with it. I act pretty much like any other western person does - but whenever I did something that was "different" people would make fun of me for it.

And then at home on the other hand, my father's side of the family would act like by being your typical western kid (not speaking their language, not eating their food etc) I was denying my Iranian heritage.

So it was always like no matter what you do, you're going to upset someone. It's not so much a problem any more, I dont know what happened but as I got older it became less apparent that I had foreign roots (infact it was only really my name that gives it away) so I dont get any hassel from "white" people anymore. However my dad's side of the family are very culture-heavy so I still get hassel from them!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Nahual

So, what's your name? Is it the last name or first name that gives it away?

Well my name's Kev so not really - but it's spelt kevon. And my surname is Hayati - so I think it's safe to say it's my last name that gave it away! It was always one of those things I would dread at school, when the teacher would say "Hayati... that's an interesting name, where is that from?" and then everyone would stare

There's nowhere I can't reach.