British | Japanese
I am half-Japanese and half-British. In Japan I identify myself as ‘hafu’; it means mixed race. My name is Sae. My mum is from Tokyo, Japan and my dad is from Birmingham, England. I was born in England. I lived here until I was about 7 years old when my family decided to go for an adventure across the continents to Singapore. We planned to live there for 2 years, which turned to 7 so I would probably say this was where I had my childhood. I went to an Australian international school, so I really was immersed in a whole mix of cultures. This made me super aware of different traditions and ways of life. London is where I’ve settled for the time being and I absolutely love it here. I was pretty aware and proud of my mixed heritage from the onset. I went to a predominantly White primary school in England, so my Japanese name stood out quite a bit. I knew that the two Japanese characters in my name, Sae, meant traditional Japanese silk and England, literally spelling out my mixed cultural background. I’ve spoken both Japanese and English since I can remember so I think I’ve always been pretty clued up about both the cultures that I am made of. I reckon there is a lot more curiosity than judgement towards mixed-race people, or at least that’s what I tell myself. It can be conflicting when I see myself belonging to a place, but other people see me as foreign. My experience of being mixed-race has been a positive one. I think that it’s pretty damn cool to be made up of different cultures, so I embrace it and am proud of it. I see it like if you don’t properly belong anywhere specific then you can be this transient being that can bop around the world without any ties. I like that; I find it quite liberating. If I was to be reborn, I really would be happy to come back as myself. My family are eccentric, loving and embrace both my Japanese and English heritage wholeheartedly. I reckon that in the future, majority of people will be mixed-race. I hope for cultural duality to be celebrated and maybe it will break down the labels and stereotypes that come with different races.
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