And Where Are Your Parents From
Canadian Made Chocolate, self explanatory right? Not exactly. See, I was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Couldn't get more Torontonian than that but, there's one thing. Im black and for some reason people don't associate Canadian with being black. No matter where I go or who I deal with people are shocked that I was actually born here. It's annoying but I can pretty much expect the reaction. First question I get is, " Are you Jamaican? ", which isin't entirely bad since the father of my two older boys is Jamaican. Guess it rubbed off. What gets me is the assumption that every black person, other than those directly from Africa are from one spot in the Caribbean. That's like assuming every blonde, blue eyed person is from Norway. Get my point? Sometimes when I tell them Im Canadian, and they ask me...and where are your parents from. Im almost tempted to say. I am 10 generations Canadian. So they would leave me the heck alone. Once in a while I say just that. They hum and ha and I laugh on the inside. There now stop trying to put a label on me damn it, since you obviously don't think I can represent your Country!
Im a child of divorce. My parents split at an early age. Men were scarce in my family, they didn't last too long. I grew up around my mother, grandmother, aunts and cousins. All my cousins on my mother side were born in Toronto as well. I grew up in a middle class white neighbourhood where I didn't get the full grasp of being different from my peers. They didnt point it out to me, so I went on my merry way going to school making friends and fitting in. Then we moved to the hood...
I didnt fit in at first...see I was a white girl in a black body. All my friends were white and a few indian. The area was upper and middle class.
I went to a new school, my classmates were almost all black. They said I talked funny, I talked white and I was too dark. I started to get chubby and that didn't help. I was fatty, blacky oh and let me not forget foureyes!
Time went by and I wasnt the new kid anymore...slowly I started to fit in....but in my mind Id never really fit in.
One thing I am very thankful for and that was gaining a sense of west indian culture. The neighbourhood corner store sold patties....and at that time the only place you could get a patty was in Eglington West(West Indian avenue I call it) We'd buy our patties pop and chips and play the days away.
I had a good childhood, I remember playing for hours. The neighbourhood was huge...hundreds of children...maybe more. Memories that will last a lifetime.
Im a child of divorce. My parents split at an early age. Men were scarce in my family, they didn't last too long. I grew up around my mother, grandmother, aunts and cousins. All my cousins on my mother side were born in Toronto as well. I grew up in a middle class white neighbourhood where I didn't get the full grasp of being different from my peers. They didnt point it out to me, so I went on my merry way going to school making friends and fitting in. Then we moved to the hood...
I didnt fit in at first...see I was a white girl in a black body. All my friends were white and a few indian. The area was upper and middle class.
I went to a new school, my classmates were almost all black. They said I talked funny, I talked white and I was too dark. I started to get chubby and that didn't help. I was fatty, blacky oh and let me not forget foureyes!
Time went by and I wasnt the new kid anymore...slowly I started to fit in....but in my mind Id never really fit in.
One thing I am very thankful for and that was gaining a sense of west indian culture. The neighbourhood corner store sold patties....and at that time the only place you could get a patty was in Eglington West(West Indian avenue I call it) We'd buy our patties pop and chips and play the days away.
I had a good childhood, I remember playing for hours. The neighbourhood was huge...hundreds of children...maybe more. Memories that will last a lifetime.
