Finding Beauty in the In-Between

I was raised in a suburb just north of Seattle by a white mother and a Japanese father, and to add another layer to the mix, they named me Sarita—a Hindi name inspired by one of my grandmother’s dear Indian friends at the University of Washington. My full name is Sarita Kelly Haruko Shimizu.  

Culture came to me through recipes, rituals, language, festivals, mannerisms, the smell of dashi and osenkō at my baachan’s house. The quiet ways culture lives inside a home. I was young when I realized my family didn’t always see me the way I saw myself. I remember making some offhand comment about someone on the news acting “typical white American.”  

My Japanese cousin looked at me and laughed as if I was completely delusional. “What are you talking about?” she said. “You’re white.” And, honestly, I remember just sitting there like: Wait, am I?

That’s me, the ambiguous kid in the kimono, which sometimes felt painfully awkward. 

Mixed kids learn early how to adapt between cultures, family dynamics, and friend groups. We learn how two things can be true at once. How identity can shift depending on who’s looking at you. How you can deeply belong to multiple cultures while sometimes still feeling misunderstood by all of them. 

And there’s beauty in the in-between too. More than anything, being mixed taught me that identity can be expansive. 

Now I’m raising a daughter who is an even richer blend of cultures, and I hope she grows up knowing she never has to deny any part of herself to belong, even when those closest to her struggle to honor her multicultural lived experience.  

What I’d love for her—and you—to know: You are not a fraction of anything. You are the living intersection of every story, culture, lineage, and love that came before you. To everyone navigating identity, culture, lineage, and belonging in layered and meaningful ways—your story belongs here, too. 

To learn more about Sarita Shimizu’s classes and curated series of elevated experiences, follow @sarita.shimizu and @the.heartspacecollective on Instagram.