In class when we were talking about Phenomenology I truly, from the bottom of my heart, had no idea what was going on. I understood it to an extent or I believed I did but as we continued to speak it became more and more confusing. As we continued and related phenomonlogy to racial identity I felt like it clicked. As we talked about the question when someone asks “Where are you really from” it resonated with me. As a Black Biracial person, in my own experience, I usually deal with the questions of “What are you.” This categorizing is uncomfortable first of by how it is said. Saying “What are you” to me feels like I’m not a person but instead something that needs to be put to name. My body feels anxious becoming alert and tense. I start to notice my voice, the way my body moves, and how I look. Is this convincing enough? How do I look? Do I have to answer this question?

After that big question the next ineviable one is. “So…who is it? Which parent?” Ah, this question. The question that is suppousibly proving if I am this race or that race enough. These types of reactions have been less overtime as I learned about my cultures and became rooted in my identity to not let others put labels on me or control how I feel about myself but every now and then this phenomena of feelings rush in and make my body feel hyper aware and thoughts running faster than my feelings can make sense of how my body feels.

Phenomenology is the meaning in the experience that we are having in our bodies. How our bodies store this kind of feeling in the moment during and after it has happened. Knowing this, the body is truly a temple that can hold a lot more than we let on. These moments for me are examples of the body phenomenology when others ask what I am thinking it makes them feel comfortable knowing where to place me. Questions like these should be mindfully asked or respectfully given. Through out his career we will travel to introduce him to others