I am a "mixed baby," as some might call it. To some, I look like a white girl with a really nice tan, or Hispanic, but when it comes to paperwork, you'll find that on the section entitled "Race," my answer is filled in as "Human." The number of times I've been asked, "Do you date black boys?" "What are you?" "Which one of your parents is black?" etc. is actually surprising and hilarious. I figured, since it's the 21st century, we would have moved away from seeing color. Unfortunately, that is not the case. But why? Why does race matter whatsoever?

People claim that "all people are the same" and "everyone should be treated fairly." Why, then, do we need to know the race of someone else, or if our race falls under another's category of "acceptable?" We are all acceptable; at least, that is how it should be.

Once, I heard a friend say that she remembered the first time she saw a black person. Upon hearing this, I was extremely confused, because that just isn't something that I remembered at all. I suppose the first time I saw a black person was a few hours after I was born and placed into my mother's arms. So, yes, my mom is black, which brings a whole new stereotypical controversy into play about interracial couples, but that's a topic for another time. Why did my friend remember the first time she saw a black person? Is it really that weird to have a different skin color?

I can't even begin to tell you the number of times that I've seen some of my dearest girl friends upset because their parents wouldn't let them date someone who was a different race from them. This still baffles me, especially because I was friends with these girls! I am not just one race, so why would you allow your daughter to be friends with me and then try to tell them they can't date a certain person because of color? It's okay if you're just friends with that person, but you can't date them? How is that fair?

All people are absolutely beautiful, in my eyes, and even more so in the Lord's. God created everyone and loves everyone, and He wants us to love one another. You don't find anywhere in the Bible that it is a sin to be a certain color. So, again, why are we judging others based off of this? You know that song you grew up singing in Sunday School, "Jesus Loves the Little Children?" It literally says, "red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight." We are loved, no matter what; that includes race.

So, to answer these questions for the one hundred millionth time, yes, I do date black boys. I will date anyone that I feel compatible with. "What are you?" I am a human, but I know you are actually asking what my ethnicity is. To answer your question, I am black, white, and some portion of Indian. Again, my mom is black, not that it matters. And I hope that, someday, our world will stop judging one another based off of color. Everyone is a beautiful creation, and we should not feel as though the color of our skin will be a hindrance to our relationship with others or a reflection of who we are as a person.