I was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1995. My dad is black, and my mom is white/Swedish. My parents moved to California two years after I was born. Around age 5, we relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, for my mom's job and have lived here since. Every summer, I spent 2–3 months in Sweden with my grandma and relatives, immersing myself in the Swedish culture and language. I feel very fortunate to have had such a phenomenal experience every year. It shaped my worldview and how I viewed race, ethnicity, and culture growing up. I never experienced strange looks or judgment in Sweden. I felt more accepted for being biracial than I experienced in America.

When we moved to Cleveland, my parents were on a mission to find a school district that had diversity and would represent our family. We found a school district that was unique for its time. The school district had almost a 50/50 split between white and black students. I never had any instances of discrimination in this school district. However, I constantly felt like I was either too white for my black friends or too black for my white friends. This caused me to become good at shifting between the two. I learned quickly how to turn my "white" or "black" side on. Over time, however, I started to notice that I was compromising who I was to fit in instead of being true to myself.

Although I never experienced racism, we got many opinions and looks in public with such a blended family. Having two white half-brothers on my mom's side plus my three other biracial brothers, we constantly received comments or confused looks in public when my whole family was together. People could not believe my black dad was raising my two white older half-brothers. Public outings were filled with individuals coming up to us, pointing their fingers, and asking us if we were a family and who was related to who. As a little girl, I thought this was strange. Especially when their guesses made me uncomfortable. Over time, I've learned to ignore the stares and the comments. Instead, I became proud of who I was and grew to accept that our family's differences were our strengths.

One of the biggest things I have had to overcome as a biracial person was my hair. My curly hair was a battle that I fought all of my childhood. I did everything I could to tame it. Growing up, there was a lack of representation for biracial kids, and everywhere I looked, it seemed like long straight hair was what beauty looked like. Or if they showed a black model, she also had straight hair as well. I struggled with comparison, and it seemed as if I could never live up to society's standards. I am thankful for the beautiful representation of curls that I see today. The natural hair movement started to take off when I was in college, and I realized that my curly hair was not a curse. It is who I am. I now embrace my big hair and love supporting and encouraging others to do the same.

Being biracial has come with challenges, but it has also become a blessing. I see the world through a different lens. I was created uniquely by God and did not look like anyone else. I no longer see myself as half black and half white. I have learned to fully accept myself as a complete representation of Swedish and Black.