What are you?

I’ve been asked that countless times. I have learned the dif­fer­ence in what na­tion­al­ity, ethnicity and race is – yes, they are different and people confuse them very often. I bring this up because I was just asked what my na­tion­al­ity was and I didn’t really have time to answer properly because I am currently at work.

I am American, Puer­tor­i­can and Hispanic/Latina.

Let me break it down for you.
Your na­tion­al­ity is based on where you live. Using myself as an example: I live in the United States of America therefore I am American. If I was to live in Canada, I’d be Canadian. Ok, next is Ethnicity. Ethnicity is based on your heritage, culture and where your parents are from. My parents and I were born in Puerto Rico, but we moved to the U.S when I was 1 year old. Last, but not least, race is what you are cat­e­go­rized as from your ap­pear­ance. As broad as that sounds, it’s true. Black, white, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, etc. Have you ever checked off a box on any type of paper work with those cat­e­gories? Well, that is what your race is.

Being asked the question What are you?  Seems a little broad to me and every time I am asked, I just want to go on a rant and explain it in depth, but most of the time I am usually on the go. I’ve gotten in many disputes about this with my mom and trying to help her un­der­stand all of this.

To end this, I’d like for you all to watch this video. I think it is ab­solutely perfect. It’s quite humorous, but it gets the point across nicely. Enjoy!

Michael Sam

Michael Sam

There’s so much talk going on about Michael Sam and him being openly gay. I don’t see why this is such a huge deal. Reading this article didn’t make me feel too easy about this whole situation.

The hottest selling rookie jersey in the NFL is Johnny Manziel’s. The second best-selling is Sam’s. It turns out NFL fans can’t wait to buy — and presumably wear — the jersey of a gay man. Who would have predicted that?

The jersey of a gay man…. Sam is human, you know. It’s not like something is drastically wrong with him. So what if people want to wear his jersey. I guess I am just happy that Sam is being open about his identity going on with his life, but what bothers me is how some people react to his situation or any other LGBTQ issues. I was also watching the news when I was on break not too long ago and they were talking about Sam being drafted and “The Kiss” (he kissed his partner and it’s on video). I am pretty sure if it was heterosexual couple showing any type of affection, then it would not be such a huge deal. I feel like social issues like these should be talked about considering that most people do not like talking about it and simply brush it off. It is part of our culture and our society. But I do have to admit that I am glad Michael Sam is being viewed as a positive and influential role model for those who struggle with “coming out” etc… What do you all think?