IDENTITY CRISIS

During my first day at Heartland Rehabilitation, one of the physical therapists asked me where I was from. I smiled as I told her "Jacksonville" because I knew where this was heading. I have had, on multiple occasions, people who I first meet ask me if I am Spanish, Italian, and ironically enough, one lady at a bank asked if I was from Kentucky. The question was then asked, "Well, where are your parents from?" and the response was, "Tampa, Florida and Roanoke, Virginia." (i hope that is right) Obviously, that was not helpful in determining my "accent". The physical therapist was actually part puerto rican and you'd think that she would be able to recognize her own kind. Apparently, it is the way I pronunciate words, say my "R's", and the speed in which I speak.

The very next day, I was finishing my observation hours at a pediatric clinic and towards the end of the day, I got that same question again. The conversation mentioned above was repeated and no conclusion was made.

Can you guess what is coming next? I returned to Heartland Rehab on Thursday and had shared with the physical therapist what had happened the day before. We joked about it and she said she is still trying to figure it out. Two hours later, I was working with a patient and he proceeded to ask me the inconclusive question: "Where is your accent from?" The therapist overheard the patient ask me this and thus they began trying to figure out my identity. The patient guessed I was from somewhere in Europe and the therapist still thought I had a Spanish accent.

To this day, I still claim to be 100% American, 100% caucasion, and 100% skilled at unknowlingly deceiving people.