Multi What?

I want to introduce you to my other blog:

Multi What? A blog about mixed identity.

Multicultural, multiethnic, multiracial, multi-multi...

Multi who, multi what? A blog about mixed identity, by one of the world's few (?) Somali-Armenian Americans.

...Tiger Woods is Cablinasian, this lady's Armali.

I've done some renovation, and now I'll be approaching it from a different (more personal) angle. I'm reposting this most recent entry here, because this is an important part of who I am, and because I thought this would be a good way to announce the rebirth of Multi What?

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Hello, World!

What's an Armali?

To start with, I'm half Somali and half Armenian. I could go with Somenian, but I think Armali sounds nicer, right?

That means I'm half black and half white---like a certain president we know, I have a black African father and a white (ish?) American mother.

oh THAT's healthy!

My mother is a second generation Armenian American (or third generation, depending on how you count it---her grandparents all came to the US from Armenian villages in Turkey around 1915-1920s.) My father is Somali. He was born and raised in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, and first immigrated to the US as a young man. My parents met in Boston, Massachusetts. I have a younger sister and brother by the same parents.


But that's not all! (Ha, I feel like a game show.)

My mother's first husband was Ghanaian, and I have two sisters by that marriage. So they're half Ghanaian and half Armenian. Their father's second wife is Tanzanian, and my sisters have a brother (my step-half brother?) by that marriage, who's half Tanzanian and half Ghanaian.

My father's second wife was European American, and I have one sister by that marriage. So she's half European American and half Somali.

My stepdad, my mom's husband now, is African American, and I have two stepbrothers (by his first marriage) who are African American on both sides.

My stepmom, my father's wife now, is Somali, and I have a whole lotta siblings who are Somali on both sides.

My mother has only one sibling, my uncle. My aunt-by-marriage is Jewish American, and my only maternal first cousin (he's like my brother) is half Jewish and half Armenian.

My name is Arabic, and I minored in Arabic in college, but English is my only native language. My parents never taught us Somali or Armenian---I really, really want to learn, someday.

I was raised Muslim---I think of myself as agnostic now, just FYI. My mother's family are
(at least nominally) Armenian Orthodox Christian, and since my aunt is Jewish, we kids got to know all kinds of holidays, when we were growing up : )

I have family in Boston, New York, Arizona, Virginia, London, Kenya and who knows where else!

Okay, I know I'm forgetting something...

Secret Identities

So---I've decided to blow my cover. I feel like I've gotten over some of my initial embarrassment, largely thanks to those of you who keep visiting, those of you who've taken the time to say a few words. So thanks for that.

Yes, I get pretty silly here, and no, it's nothing fancy. But it's me, or at least it's a little bit of me. Why be ashamed about that? I can put together a more professional-ish site if I ever get to the point where that's necessary.

My other concern was about privacy. The internets frighten me, to be honest---and that's weird, because I tend to be a bit of an internet addict. But I've been delving into the world of blogs more and more lately, and there are plenty of real people out there who use their real names to blog, and they seem none the worse for wear. My friend S. does, and she hasn't had any problems. Same with Twitter---apparently it's no big deal. I guess I'm just more old fashioned than I thought.

I want to be able to share stuff, and sometimes that means I can't be anonymous. Like now: Look, the Minnesota MFA program is welcoming our incoming class! Me, right there, it's real! *happiness*



I'll try it out for a while. If the sky doesn't come crashing down, I guess I'll stick with it.

Here we go (knock on wood):

Hi, I'm Wahida. It's nice to meet you!