Filipino | Indonesian
Mixedracefaces have collaborated with UK Parliament to profile some of their staff members and MP’s , helping raise diversity awareness and to highlight that there is a place for everyone in their workplace.
My Mum is Filipino and my Dad is Indonesian. My parents would always tell me stories about what life was like growing up in their countries to remind me of my heritage and culture, as well as to highlight how different my life is compared to theirs since I grew up in the UK. They also made sure that I visited their home countries which was great because I was able to observe the similarities and differences in their cultures. I love being of mixed-heritage because it’s different. You won’t find many people from the same background as me, so it’s always a great conversation starter if someone asks about it. And I secretly enjoy when people try to guess where I’m originally from, especially when they get it totally wrong! What’s also great is that I can blend into both countries when I visit, especially as sometimes I feel that I can stand out in certain environments in the UK due to my ethnicity. I also enjoy forming friendships and bonds with people who have the same background (i.e. British born children of immigrants) as we have a shared identity and similar funny, but mostly awkward, stories about growing up in the West with foreign parents. My outlook on my mixed-heritage has changed from a child compared to as an adult. As a child through to my early teenage years I never really gave much thought to my ethnicity. I think this was mainly because I grew up in an area and attended schools that are very ethnically-diverse. It was only when I started university that I became more aware of my mixed-heritage identity because I found myself attending classes that were not ethnically-diverse so it made me think about this topic even more. Because of this experience I became so fascinated about ethnic diversity in Britain that I chose to write my Master’s dissertation on organisational behaviour, to uncover the different perceptions of ethnicity and the effect this has on British ethnic minorities sense of self, workplace experiences and future career prospects and aspirations. If I had the opportunity to be reborn I would like to return as a panda, because they’re so cute and just chill all day.
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