"Oh you're Nigerian!? " -  A question that was so frequently asked when I was in 6th through 9th grade. I used to think it was a good thing that I didnt look like "those other africans" because I wanted to look like a fellow American especially since i grew up around mostly white kids and for them to say my name was always a mouthful. What I didn't know was that both the people who asked me those questions and even myself were full of sheer ignorance.
I wonder if there is any book, handbook, or rule book that says Africans or Nigerians are supposed to look a certain way? Maybe these books are installed into the minds of the non-africans. The world's idea of a fellow african is that africans are all black,uneducated,maltreated beings who cant depend on themselves and are nothing but corrupt.I figured out that the worlds idea of Africans was completely wrong when my family and I moved back to Nigeria.
My first week there I was shocked shitless, at the time there was a particular shoe brand that was popular in the U.S  called "Toms". The day I saw it on someones feet in Nigeria I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, i was still in my ignorant stage. The people I came across were far from the igbotic images I was expecting to see. I saw people of different colours with all sorts of beauty and unique structures. As I started to get to know the country i realized that it was truly a wonderful place to live in, not because every road is perfect or because there are white people every corner you turn (well these days they are frequently spotted either accompanied by an igbotic looking girl or accompanied by two mopols)  but because the people who I believed were barbaric in nature were cultured, even more cultured than myself in things I liked such as music(good music at that), art, fashion and so much more.
I started to realize that I was the barbaric one for being so myopic towards my own race. I then told myself that the next time someone asks "are you really Nigerian?" That I would ask "are you really (inputs ethnicity)?" Trace your roots folks, it'll not only let you know who you are but it'll also give you the power to never lose yourself in the crowd.