Nose

I have long been at odds with my nose. It's not that I dislike it, it's that I don't understand it. I have spent too much time wondering why my nose 'seems to think I'm Black.' I offer as pictorial evidence, the image to the right of your screen: my nose (I promise).

You will notice, I'm sure, the wide base, very typical of African American features. This is a totally fine feature, unless, of course, the person possessing it happens to be a pale red head! In that case, it looks considerably out of place.

I won't bore you with endless details on how not white my nose looks, just, well, see for yourself.

Last week I made a realization that for some strange reason came as a shock to myself: it's not that my nose thinks it's Black, it's that my nose knows something my brain (while trying to figure it out) had completely discarded: I'm not totally Caucasian. That's right kids: my nose is more aware than my brain that I'm American Indian.

That small reminder has managed to realign the chi of who I am. I am Native American, not only do I know it, but so does my nose!

I no longer puzzle why my nose thinks it's Black, instead, I puzzle why it took my brain so long to make the connection, after all, I have a very strong Native American profile. No, you don't get to see.