Don’t Sway in the Wind

Getting caught in the wind and flowing with the breeze, no matter which way it may turn, is not only going to deter your path, but it may also stop you from reaching your destination.”

Staying rooted becomes especially important when the world keeps asking people to become easier to understand, easier to label, or easier to place inside categories that never fully tell the truth.

For mixed and biracial teens, the “wind” can show up through questions, assumptions, jokes, forms, family conversations, cultural expectations, and the quiet pressure to explain identity before being fully seen. A young lady living between cultures may be asked to bend toward whatever answer makes the room more comfortable, even when her full story deserves more care than a quick category can offer.

One question remains just as important today as the original message itself:

Who helps a mixed teen stay rooted when the world keeps asking her to sway?

Archive Note

Rootedness and identity are deeply connected. People do not develop a sense of self in isolation; relationships, environments, expectations, and repeated messages all influence how a person learns to stand in who they are.

The original Don’t Sway in the Wind blog speaks to determination, direction, and the importance of remaining firm when life becomes difficult or unpredictable. Within the Dear Mixed Girl® conversation, the message also connects to mixed identity, belonging, emotional intelligence, and the responsibility adults carry in creating spaces where young people do not have to shrink, perform, or simplify themselves to be accepted.

Mixed and biracial teens deserve environments where every part of their story can be held with care. Steadiness becomes easier when the people around them make room for complexity instead of asking them to move with every assumption, question, or expectation placed in front of them.

Don’t Sway in the Wind

Being a stronghold in your world as life switches, twists, and turns is a valuable and key part of becoming successful and the next version of who you are supposed to be.

Getting caught in the wind and flowing with the breeze, no matter which way it may turn, is not only going to deter your path, but it may also stop you from reaching your destination.

Having your feet firmly planted in life can be difficult, but readjusting when difficulty arises may be the key to ensuring your next steps can be taken.

When life is grand and simple, we can run, skip, jump, and maybe twirl along the path because there may not be any obstacles along the way. In this space, enjoy every moment and take advantage of the opportunities set before you. There will be many times like this, and it is up to you to acknowledge the exceptional and rare time in front of you.

When life is not so easy, remember that you are in control even still.

For me, God is the stronghold in my life and always will be. Many times, I could have rolled along like tumbleweed or swayed in the wind like a tree in the forest, but I did not do that. I understood that God had something greater for me, so I could not walk in that path because if I did, I could not become who I am now or who I am called to be.

Swaying in the wind not only affects you; it affects everyone and everything around you.

Always know that you are a person, being, entity, brand, and visionary who is earth-shaking, life-changing, and a gift to so many people when you tap into and hold firm to everything that makes you who you are and multiply that times infinity.

Be Blessed and Be At Peace.