My family immigrated to the UK from Poland when I was six. I’m 20 now, speak much better English than Polish and feel like this is my land/culture. However I have a Polish first and last name, Polish passport and “unique” accent everyone picks up on, so despite this I’m usually perceived as an outsider. It makes me really sad because I don’t “belong” in Poland anymore either. Everything seems so complicated especially as I’ve gotten older with having to get the right documentation for work and opening a bank account and etc also… Not even sure if I can vote in the next general election even though I feel like I should be able to?
I’ve had a few nasty instances of being told to go back to my own country, even had a conker thrown at my head while a boy yelled Polski at me in year 11, and tbh even just been seen as a novelty and being asked to say something in Polish has gotten really old. I guess I’m just wondering if I’ll ever truly fit in. For some context, I grew up in North England and now live in Wales
Whenever someone asks where you’re from, just get more specific with where you grew up. Never with where your parents or ancestors are from.
Country. County. Town. District. Block. Nearest intersection or landmark. Which room of the house was yours.
If they don’t get the picture or ask about your background, you could say “I thought you wanted to know about me, not my parents”.
This is genius
Where are you from? London. No. Where were you born? 6th Avenue.
That’s how I handled my high school year abroad. Because I literally came from Germany, I replied to that question with “I am from Germany”. Not “I am German”, but “from Germany”. I was born and raised there and only lived there. Only if it came up (e.g. because of my passport) or made sense in context, I mentioned that I am a Russian from Germany. So basically most people only found out about my genetics five months in. But of course that works much easier when you pass due to looks and accent.