What are you?!

This book was simply great. It was well put together and insightful. I did find some frustration in many of the stories because they concentrated their self-concept around what other people thought of them or what group they belonged to. I acknowledge that race is a very visual thing and it does have some power over one's self-image. I was VERY relieved when finally a story came up where the writer had two entries- one previously, and one more recently. In the recent story, the writer admitted that he had been confused primarily because he was basing his definition of himself on what other people saw, did, or classified him as. Thank goodness for that revelation--I think it would be extremely useful for adolescents struggling with defining who they are. This book also opened my eyes a little. I am guilty of asking someone, "What are you?" However, I would never have asked a stranger like some of the stories had encounters with. I merely asked my friends out of curiosity-- I find it interesting to know peoples backgrounds. I am very forthcoming with my own (German, Norwegian, Swedish, Irish, etc..) I had never even imagined that someone would be in an uncomfortable place sharing that information. I never intended to use whatever they said to judge them based on their heritage alone, or figure out why they looked the way they did. It was merely curiosity and perhaps to understand them further. I don't think I'm getting my point across about this, so I'll stop sharing! :)