1. Sometimes, people will speak Spanish in front of you, assuming you don't know what they're saying.
2. And people act shocked when they discover that, yes, you can speak Spanish, too.
(Although it's obvs NBD if you don't.)
3. People love to tell you, "OK, say something else in Spanish!"
4. At some point, you've been told you don't "look Latina."
5. And, for some reason, people specifically think it's OK to inform you that you "don't look like J.Lo."
6. If your name is in Spanish, people will be dumbfounded.
7. And sometimes they'll ask you to keep pronouncing your name, like it's a neat party trick.
8. And if you're Latina but your name ISN'T in Spanish, people become doubly confused!
9. People can and do ask, "If you're Latina, then why are you white/black?"
10. Even when you inform people that your roots are in Latin America, they'll act like you need to prove it.
11. And people tell you where they think you SHOULD be from.
12. And if you're Brazilian, forget it. You're not here to teach people how to google.
13. You don't have time to explain how Latinas can have Asian AND African heritage.
14. Filling out a census form is always an interesting experience.
15. Even media FOR Latinos often feature people who don't represent you.
But you know that despite it all, YOU get to define yourself.
