Kaylee Savage is a proud, young Black woman who continues to inspire me. She has a charismatic personality that you can’t not love. She is beyond sweet, funny, smart, witty, and caring. I’m lucky, I get to call her my sorority sister. I’m grateful that she allowed me to interview her during this unsettling time.
I have wanted to interview her for a while, but I think now is the perfect time to share her story and experiences.
Through this article, you will read her raw emotions about everything that is currently going on in our society, as well as her experiences, hopes, dreams, aspirations, and goals for the future.
Before we dive deep into her life, I want to say thank you to Kaylee for her honesty, not all things are easy to say, but they sometimes need to be.
At the end of this article, I will also include educational articles and links about Black Lives Matter, along with other organizations and movements relating to the topics discussed.
Quote
“I do not have to pick a side, I am proud of all of me!” - Luke Whitehead
One thing that bonds Kaylee and I together is that we both share the feeling of not fully fitting into a box. What I mean by this is Kaylee is half-Black and half-White, and I am half-Latin and half- White. We both have had our fair share of people telling us we aren’t “blank” enough because we are mixed.
People rarely talk about the people like Kaylee, who is in the middle, lost between the different sides of their genes, struggling to check the right box, and embrace their intersectionality. People don’t realize how emotionally draining it is to figure out how to handle being mixed. There is no handbook and it’s difficult because being biracial or biethnic looks different for everyone. You have to learn as you go, your parents can’t even relate or understand. I believe it’s an important topic that needs to be talked about and that’s why I discussed with Kaylee.
I will be sharing Kaylee’s story, research, and some of my own personal experiences, in hope to start and continue a positive discussion on the importance of intersectionality and embracing it.
Questions
What is one word you would use to describe yourself?
“Hopeful”
“With everything going on and keeping a positive mindset, and just like hopeful for the best for everyone.”
There is a lot of uncertainty in the world right now, but she seems hopeful that the future is bright, and we will have better days. I admire that about her because, especially right now, it's hard to keep positive.
What is something that you are most proud of?
“I like that I’m able to juggle so many responsibilities in college. I’m not an A student, but I’m really proud of my grades and how I have two jobs and a bunch of leadership positions. I’m very impressed with myself about being able to juggle all of that.”
Kaylee is extremely involved at SDSU. She somehow manages to do it all. She has an officer board position in our sorority, she’s involved in other clubs and organizations on campus, and all while being a full-time student and working two jobs. College is already hard on its own, but adding organizations and jobs on top of the homework, and it can be a tricky balancing act.
What is one thing you would tell your younger self?
“Leave time for self-care and loving yourself. I seem to put myself last in a lot of situations, which I am currently working on.”
As the VP of Member Experience of our chapter, Kaylee has made it her goal to make sure that the members of our chapter feel loved, supported, and take time for themselves and their needs. She has made self-care and self-love the center of her agenda in her role. This all relates back and shows who she is. She cares about her sisters, friends, members, and how they feel about themselves and their mental and physical health.
Loving yourself takes time. It’s a long hard journey that takes time, and Kaylee uses her voice to make others feel confident, loved, and supported both in and out of the chapter.
What was your favorite part of living in Hawaii?
“I would say being very close to a beach. I lived in the water."
“The culture and food too. I miss the food so much.”
Kaylee moved around several times, when she was growing up. However, she spent the majority of her childhood in Hawaii. She explained how she loved living next to the beach, and she is grateful that her friends in Hawaii were adventurous.
What has been the biggest obstacle in your life thus far?
“Being a Black woman. I have to constantly be worried about my skin tone everywhere I go.”
For her, the biggest obstacle in her life has related to the color of her skin and her gender. Kaylee is not alone, many women and men struggle and have to face obstacles that others don’t because of the color of their skin.
She also added that she has test anxiety. She explained that it’s something she never realized she had until she got to college.
What are your goals for after graduation?
“To go to DPT school.”
Kaylee’s goal after graduation is to go to DPT school (Doctor of Physical Therapy), and eventually, her end goal is to become a Pediatric Physical Therapist.
I see big things in Kaylee’s future, and I can’t wait to see all of her accomplishments.
What do you want your impact on our AGD chapter to be?
Kaylee and the rest of the current officer board have been working extremely hard to make our chapter a safe space for everyone. As a woman of color in a sorority, she wants to leave a positive impact and make sure that other women of color feel supported and loved in the chapter.
Here is what Kaylee said about her lasting impact on our chapter.
“To acknowledge the past of the chapter and try to make it better and even more inclusive.”
What do you hope to see change in the greek life system in the years to come?
The greek life system has excluded certain kinds of people for too long, but now people, such as Kaylee, have the opportunity to make a lasting positive impact that creates more acceptance, inclusion, and diversity.
“I hope to see more acceptance of people of color, especially within the Black community.”
How has your race, ethnicity, or intersectionality shaped you into the woman you are today?
Intersectionality Definition: "the complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, or intersect especially in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups." (Merriam-Webster)
When getting to know someone, you look at them as a whole. Race and ethnicity, both play a role in how the world views who you are. In some cases, people take one look at you and they think they already have you figured out, and that isn’t the case in any circumstance. Kaylee has seen this first hand, and it has shaped her into the young woman she is today.
She explains, “It has definitely played an important role in my life. However, living in Hawaii, I was always around loving people who accepted me for me. But out of the bubble, it has contributed, and I am now proud to be Black. (When I was little not so much)”
How do you think intersectionality and representation can be more inclusive in the media, college, greek life, and corporate worlds?
Intersectionality is a topic that is becoming more talked about, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. Intersectionality needs to be more apparent in every aspect of our society.
Kaylee stated, “By showing a more diverse group of people besides the basic, I have a POC woman/man. Then, changing the language by watching the micro-aggressions.”
POC: People of Color
Was there ever a time where people made you feel like you don’t belong because of your race?
For the most part, at some point in someone’s life they have felt that they don’t belong, however, not everyone experiences this because of their race, or even more specifically races. Being mixed creates a whole different perspective that the rest of society tends to forget about. There is prejudice for being “mixed,” “too light,” “white washed,” and there is the other side where people see you as “exotic.”
Kaylee explains, “Yes, I honestly experience this at a lot of places because I am mixed and have lighter skin. So, either neighborhood that is full of African Americans or White people, I get looked at as if I should not be here.”
Kaylee’s words remind me of a feeling I and other mixed people feel on a daily basis. It’s something that bonds us all together because we don’t ever feel like we are with "our people." We are fighting an inner and outer battle of figuring out where we belong, but the world judges us before we can even make our own decision.
Was there ever a time in your life people didn’t believe your mom was your mom? (just more so curious this happened to me and my brother growing up)
I wanted to ask this question to Kaylee specifically because we are similar, in that both our moms are white and our dads are the ones who are darker. Growing up, people questioned if my mom was my mom, and I never understood why until I was older. It’s something that is never talked about when discussing racial profiling or any other topic relating to this issue. I wanted to see if Kaylee experienced similar things when her and her brother were growing up.
Kaylee answered, “Oh yes. I look exactly like a lighter version of my dad. When my brother and I were younger, they thought my mom was the nanny. I get weird looks when I am just with my mom today.”
When Kaylee shared that people would think her mom was their nanny, I immediately felt 100% more connected to Kaylee. People would think my mom was the nanny, as well, when I was growing up. I look more like my mom than my brother does, so he would often be with my mom when those remarks were made. Even when my family is all together, we often still get weird looks.
Do you feel like people look at you differently because of the color of your skin?
“All the time. Either the color of my skin, or the way I dress.”
People of color are constantly looked at differently than their non-colored counterparts. It sucks because as people of color, we are constantly double checking who is around us and seeing if anyone looks like us.
Kaylee explains, “Yes!!!! I can’t stress enough. I don't know what it feels like to not walk into a room and look for other POC to try to fit in better or feel safer.”
Do you think that the media does a good job at representing what the United States genuinely looks like?
Kaylee stated, “No, I don’t. America is unique and has so many different cultures, but it is not represented in the media. Also, the fact that the media displays colorism and only representing lighter-skinned individuals.”
Kaylee also makes a great point that the United States is a melting pot of so many cultures and identities, yet rarely have all of those represented in the media.
The media is extremely “white-washed.” Most of the media uses people of color, but they rarely hire people with a darker complexion. Having a darker complexion, in many places around the world, is seen as “ugly” or an “unwanted trait,” and the media perpetuates that idea by not representing people of darker complexions in the media.
How have you been staying busy during quarantine?
Kaylee explains that, “During strict quarantine, I was with my boyfriend, so we mostly watched TV and worked out when we were lazy. Now, I have my jobs back.”
Resources
Teen Vogue Articles
Black Lives Matter
Refinery 29
Intersectionality
I want to give a huge thank you to Kaylee Savage for giving me the opportunity to interview you and share your story. I truly believe that stories like yours are powerful in educating others.
Stay tuned for more interviews from women who continue to inspire me.
Forever Always,
Emily
Comentários