So as I’m going through the phases of pregnancy, I’ve hit the “fear of everything” stage. You know, the one that you over analyze and over think everything. To the point that I won’t walk down a broken escalator for fear of falling… yeah it’s that bad. But as my country celebrated it’s Independence Day this past week another fear creeped into my head. Will my baby have an identity crisis?

I’ve mentioned some parts of this in a previous post, but it does concern me how my baby will be received in the world and in Sweden. A little background for those that aren’t aware. I’m a Vietnamese-American and Daniel is a Macedonian-Swede. Our parents immigrated to the countries in which we were born and raised. I’ve always felt very “American” and proud of my Vietnamese heritage and culture. Daniel would probably say he identifies more with his Macedonian roots and cultural ways of thinking. I mean…did you not see our Macedonian wedding? LOL. But now that we’re together living in Sweden our baby will be essentially a Vietnamese-American-Macedonian-Swede! That’s a lot to take in.

Our baby will be a mix of both of us and our cultural backgrounds and although I find it a lot more acceptable and common in Los Angeles, I’m nervous about how people will feel here. There are a lot of mixed marriages in Sweden, don’t get me wrong. But there are some stigmas as well, especially with the large number of mail-ordered-brides that are coming from Asian countries to marry Swedish men. I would hate for my baby to feel any part of that type of stigma or prejudice because of some stereotype.

Maybe the political climate of what’s happening around the world is making me afraid. This anti-immigrant culture that is being bred thanks to the current US President and others not able to deal with the influx of refugees is casting a shadow over the larger issues. My parents were immigrants and left their country for a better life in America, through their sacrifice I was able to live the life I wanted without fear and without feeling different or any less “American”.

I guess the real fear is, will I be able to protect my baby from the negativity of being different? I will have to make sure to teach our baby to be strong when faced with prejudice or racism. It could happen anywhere not just here. I just hope that by the time my baby is old enough to understand that there is beauty in being different, the world will be a different and more tolerant place.