Margaret Hayes,
Bartow, FL.

I am mostly White on my mother’s side. Her family is all Southern. I do not look anything like them nor was I raised in the South so I don’t always think or act like they do. I am Native American on my father’s side. I definitely look much more like my father than my mother (actually nothing like my mother’s side with their pale skin and light eyes) but I wasn’t raised like he was either. With my parents being military, I moved everywhere. I have little to nothing in common with either side as my extended families didn’t share my experiences nor I their’s. I wish I had more in common with my Native side since I live in the south. But while I live in the South, it’s definitely not the same as being born and raised here. I have good relationships with both sides but I feel culturally like an outsider on both sides. I feel cultural ties are one key part to our identities. For me, it’s an important one. It shows up in family gatherings… on both sides. I have no shared childhood or early adulthood memories. Culture is tied to race. For me, it feels isolating. I feel different. I fit neither group.