My true identify is hard to distinguish. There are many identities that are given to me before I can even say a word. People assume I am Hispanic due to my physical appearance. I have dark brown hair and fairly tan skin. Those are traits of one with a Hispanic background. When I tell them my real nationality, which is Native American, Irish and Italian, I get blank stares as if I am lying. It is as though I said I was a sea wolf. On many occasions, I had random people start speaking Spanish to me assuming I would understand. Once I tell them I do not understand Spanish, they give me an attitude and walk away. I am assuming it is because they still think I am Spanish but I do not know the language.

After they find out my nationality, the next question is “where are you from?” I was born and raised in Central Islip, New York. It is a hamlet on Long Island. This is when I am assumed to be "white breed". “White breed” is known as being raised by and surrounded by white people. Just by the name of my home place, people have common perceptions about my raising. The name alone gives off a notion that there are white picket fences around a large house, four-family home with a dog and non violent neighborhood. This is where mistakes are made. First, my parents are separated. They have been separated since I was 3 years old. Second, my house has no fence around it. My house may look large but we only live in half of it. We live in a two bedroom apartment. When my older brother and two older step brothers lived there, there were 7 people living in a two bedroom apartment. Last but not least, Central Islip has a high crime rate from robberies to rape to gang violence.

-- Ashley Brewster