Anti-Bias Childhood Reflections

When I was very young I can remember almost to the point where I can visually picture it and what is what like being in my preschool classroom, the way it smelled, what we had for snack, the cots during nap time, and what activities I did outside and inside the classroom. One memory related to cultural differences and bias sticks out most for me. I remember having a friend who was a little hispanic boy, at Valley Pre-School in Granby, CT where I attended an almost all white school until kindergarten when we moved to CA. I knew he was different but I also know that I really did not care. I can remember that the boy spoke little english but I still played house with him and made him part of our "house family"-I think he was the brother? At age three and four I did not care if my friends were "different" or was not aware that it mattered to others. My best friend until I moved to CA was a boy and I had as many girl friends as I did boys. This meant I played with Barbies and dolls as well as played with trucks and in the dirt. I went to some all girls birthday parties and some birthdays where I was the only girl. I am more aware now of how others react to those who are different but think that I am still someone who has very diverse friends. My best friend in CA is asian and while playing competitive tournaments for tennis (both singles and doubles) my doubles partner was half spanish and half black (a ringer for Beyonce). I never really saw them as a race though because they were and still are like family to me. Even my best friend who is asian, whose family celebrates chinese holidays and traditions, I view as my family. My mom is best friends with her mom and our families are very close. I think that even though I grew up going to schools with mostly white students, from pre-school through to college, I still was exposed to different cultures because the Bay Area in Northern CA is so diverse and my extra curicular activities took me places where I was exposed to diverse people who became good friends. One thing that does make me sad is that my best friend who is asian, who is gorgeous and who models part time, does not like being asian. She tells me all the time how she wishes she had blue eyes and blond hair. She dyes her hair light reddish brown, and tans to the point that she does not even look chinese, who usually have very air skin. She will not even consider dating guys who are asian and never has dated one in the past. It is so unbelievable and sad to me that she is ashamed of her own culture and makes me more aware of how people can make others feel inferior about who they are or how they look. I am sure I have some biases, but I also know how lucky I am to have such diverse friends. My friends are diverse in many ways, including religion, nationality, race, age, what country thy are from, where they live geographically, their interests, gender, etc..