Ok So What's Your Race? Oh Me? I'm Mexican. No...There Is No Circle For That On The Census. Ok...I'm White? Yea That Works Fine

The question of differentiating between race and ethnicity is one that has bothered me for a very long time. What exactly makes me white? Is it my skin color? Well even then it still confuses me because I can get pretty brown at times. Is there no classification for brown people? If someone asks me what my race is do I say white? If I do what will they know about me? They will think I am white when in reality I am a first generation American citizen. I speak Spanish just as well as I do English. I am not white in any sense of the word. Many people take offense to filling out the race section of the US Census. On the census website the government states, "How Should Hispanics or Latinos Answer the Race Question? People of Hispanic origin may be of any race and should answer the question on race by marking one or more race categories shown on the questionnaire, including White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and Some Other Race. Hispanics are asked to indicate their origin in the question on Hispanic origin, not in the question on race, because in the federal statistical system ethnic origin is considered to be a separate concept from race."(http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/race/racefactcb.html) Many people I speak to just skip the race question al together. I, along with many others, believe my ethnicity is a huge part of my identity because it has affected my ideologies, beliefs, religious stance, and countless other things. My experience is very different than the white experience. I am who I am because of where I grew up, who I've met, and what I've learned. To truly know who someone is we must understand where they came from. So the next time someone asks you who you are tell them the whole truth, not just a piece of it.