Don't say it

"Oh, you want to be a writer? That's so cool!" I'm okay with this.

"Oh, you listen to indie music? I never would have guessed from looking at you." Why, because I'm black?

I dislike being stereotyped. A LOT. It makes people think they know everything about you. I'm aware that society will never get rid of stereotypes. Some of them can be useful, especially in stories. But in my eighteen years of living, I've grown sick of people expecting me to behave in a certain way because they perceive me to be a certain kind of person.

Just because I'm black, no-one should expect me to listen to a certain kind of music. I actually like a range of genres, but indie is the main one. Similarly, just because I'm Caribbean, no-one should expect me to dance "with rhythm". That logic doesn't even make sense to me! (I'm looking at you, Mum.)

I can only hope people stop judging me from my ethnicity and start judging me as an individual. I like to write, I'm trying to build up my biceps, I watch cartoons, sometimes I don't care about my appearance (and sometimes I change my clothes nine times before deciding what to wear), I have a strong conscience - none of these things have anything to do with being a girl, or being black, or being a Londoner.

They have everything to do with me being me.