Natasha Marte.
I grew up in a Dominican household and my friends consist of Black, White & Spanish, as well as other ethnicities. I listen to all kinds of music but predominantly rock (classic and heavy metal) and because of what & who I liked, I was judged & criticized that I’m not being Spanish enough, that I’m not being Black enough, and I was never & will never be “accepted” by White people (let’s be real). That can make a person feel very isolated; on an island all my own. Constantly defending why I listen to rock to Black & Spanish people and also having to justify and tamp down my anger at White people’s surprise & shock that a dark skinned person knows almost every Metallica & Led Zeppelin song. But I still bop my head to WuTang and move my hips to merengue. So I don’t know where I belong. I still struggle with that. I still cry because of it.
I know that I’ve been blessed to be open-minded & I embrace everything and everyone for what they bring to the table, not the color of their skin or what music they listen to.
So maybe my new six words – “I am no one but I’m everyone” – deal with it
