Distorted Identity | Pamica Yongyosying

Never in my life someone assumed my ethnicity correctly

I have been seen as countless different ethnicities

But never what I actually am It's true, I don't really look like the 90% part of my DNA "Wow I really didn't think you were that" People have created their own versions of my bloodline

"You look mostly Hispanic but with some Indian"

In reality and genetically, I'm just Thai

"Are you sure you're ONLY Thai?"

As I walk through the streets of Thailand

I feel foreign in my own motherland

Locals hesitate to speak Thai to me But why are others so confident to speak Spanish to me? Even the Thai-Americans look more Thai than I do

I eat the same foods, I speak the same language, I practice the same traditions

My culture is in my blood, yet it's not reflected in my face

I've been searching for a middle ground

But too many outside influences have defined me

My identity has become distorted

Photo by Mirko Blicke on Unsplash

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