--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I saw her note the way I hovered over the…" description: "\"“I saw her note the way I hovered over the various ethnicities on the form. First the 'white' box, then to the airspace over the 'black' box, a kind of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/olivia-sudjic-5411_biracial_i-saw-her-note-the-way-i-hovered-over-th_1526250.jpg" --- # I saw her note the way I hovered over the various… ![“I saw her note the way I hovered over the various ethnicities on the form. First the 'white' box, then to the airspace over the 'black' box, a kind of momentary hesitation, a protest of stillness, a staring into the abyss of everything I did not know about myself. She, like me, was made of halves.” quote by Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/olivia-sudjic-5411_biracial_i-saw-her-note-the-way-i-hovered-over-th_1526250.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/olivia-sudjic-5411_biracial_i-saw-her-note-the-way-i-hovered-over-th_1526250.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/olivia-sudjic-5411_biracial_i-saw-her-note-the-way-i-hovered-over-th_1526250.jpg) > ““I saw her note the way I hovered over the various ethnicities on the form. First the 'white' box, then to the airspace over the 'black' box, a kind of momentary hesitation, a protest of stillness, a staring into the abyss of everything I did not know about myself. She, like me, was made of halves.”” [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator observes a subtle, unconscious bias in how she categorizes race, revealing inner conflict and fragmented identity. **In simple terms:** She notices a hidden bias that splits her sense of self. Key Takeaway Recognize and question hidden biases. Themes identity bias self-awareness race fragmentation Mood introspective thoughtful Type literary reflective When to use this quote - job interview - personal reflection - diversity training - creative writing Key Concepts psychology social cognition intersectionality Questions to Reflect On - How do hidden biases shape our self-perception? - What steps can we take to integrate fragmented parts of ourselves? A Different Perspective The quote assumes awareness leads to change, but deeper systemic factors may persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biracial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biracial/) [Ethnicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethnicity/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Olivia-sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/olivia-sudjic/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Staring Into The Abyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring-into-the-abyss/) [Sympathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathy/) ## Related quotes > [“It was like we were two halves of an oyster shell, and when you put us together, it hid the gray gunk inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-flinn/it-was-like-we-were-two-halves-of-an-oyster-shell-and-when-you-put-us/) [Alex Flinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-flinn/) > [“That’s very trusting.” Iris watches Anke search our backpacks. “We’re saving people’s lives. We thought we could be,”Anke says. I’m more fixated on her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-duyvis/that-s-very-trusting-iris-watches-anke-search-our-backpacks-we-re/) [Corinne Duyvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-duyvis/) > [“Do I have to admit that I'm half Cuban and half American, or should I go even further, and explain that Dad's parents were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/do-i-have-to-admit-that-i-m-half-cuban-and-half-american-or-should-i/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“At the steamy train station in New Orleans, horrifying signs above drinking fountains announce: COLORED. WHITE. Confused, I drink out of both. Why should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/at-the-steamy-train-station-in-new-orleans-horrifying-signs-above/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“The Romans and Greeks believed that the appearance of comets, meteors, and meteor showers was portentous. They were signs that something good or bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayla-cunningham/the-romans-and-greeks-believed-that-the-appearance-of-comets-meteors/) [Kayla Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayla-cunningham/) > [“She unwinds her scarf, taking so long about it that I wonder if she expects me to respond. “You were following the rules,” I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-duyvis/she-unwinds-her-scarf-taking-so-long-about-it-that-i-wonder-if-she/) [Corinne Duyvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-duyvis/) > [“I mean: if you’re going outside to look for your sister, I get it.” Max goes silent. Maybe Mirjam’s death is hitting him now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-duyvis/i-mean-if-you-re-going-outside-to-look-for-your-sister-i-get-it-max/) [Corinne Duyvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-duyvis/) ## More by Olivia Sudjic > [“It was to do with the glazed look that always comes over me when faced with somebody who has offended or hurt me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/it-was-to-do-with-the-glazed-look-that-always-comes-over-me-when/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [“I was on the sidewalk, buffering, wondering if it was okay to follow people in real life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/i-was-on-the-sidewalk-buffering-wondering-if-it-was-okay-to-follow/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [“That night I dreamt about the roses laid at the wrong feet—the feet of the nurse. Each bit of the dream was like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/that-night-i-dreamt-about-the-roses-laid-at-the-wrong-feet-the-feet/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [“I saw a doctor. I went in case there were any remnants of the summer inside me—sticky, slender fish bones that needed to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/i-saw-a-doctor-i-went-in-case-there-were-any-remnants-of-the-summer/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [“I felt the nauseous shiver in my stomach—everything from rage to empathy to morning sickness—that I had grown used to and now thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/i-felt-the-nauseous-shiver-in-my-stomach-everything-from-rage-to/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [“A neon-pink 3 flickered and instantly disappeared again into the dark. The sight of it on my own device now made me sick. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/a-neon-pink-3-flickered-and-instantly-disappeared-again-into-the-dark/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [“I felt my own self-sufficiency, my own Walden Pond, seeping out of me as if I'd sprung a leak. Self soaked into everything around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/i-felt-my-own-self-sufficiency-my-own-walden-pond-seeping-out-of-me/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [“ Roses are like kamikaze love pilots. Roses are like suicide love bombers. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/roses-are-like-kamikaze-love-pilots-roses-are-like-suicide-love/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [“Waking in the morning, I had to remember grief all over again. It was sunny, a white winter sun, and that made me sad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/waking-in-the-morning-i-had-to-remember-grief-all-over-again-it-was/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [“I sank back, deeper into the parallel universe I had found.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/i-sank-back-deeper-into-the-parallel-universe-i-had-found/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [“But you'd hope anyone would feel sympathy if they actually saw someone face to face, pleading for a chance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/but-you-d-hope-anyone-would-feel-sympathy-if-they-actually-saw/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [“From watching Silvia, I'd learned that one of the worst things about being ill is that most people find your suffering opaque. With this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/from-watching-silvia-i-d-learned-that-one-of-the-worst-things-about/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [“Begin at the beginning. Know nothing. Tabula rasa. At the same time, part of me wanted to distinguish myself. To let her sense the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/begin-at-the-beginning-know-nothing-tabula-rasa-at-the-same-time-part/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [“Tokyo was a place you could quite happily exist alone and be self-contained. It seemed to promise that it was better to be by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/tokyo-was-a-place-you-could-quite-happily-exist-alone-and-be-self/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) > [“It continues to impress me how fluently Americans, even immigrants like her, speak of their achievements.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-sudjic/it-continues-to-impress-me-how-fluently-americans-even-immigrants/) [Olivia Sudjic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) [Explore all 101 Olivia Sudjic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-sudjic/) ## More Biracial quotes > [I think being biracial is a different experience. I think that, and coming from the U.K., I feel as much white as I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gugu-mbatha-raw/i-think-being-biracial-is-a-different-experience-i-think-that-and/) [Gugu Mbatha-Raw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gugu-mbatha-raw/) > [I'm trying to get my next job as a biracial action hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pooch-hall/i-m-trying-to-get-my-next-job-as-a-biracial-action-hero/) [Pooch Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pooch-hall/) > [As a biracial person, my family at first didn't know at first what to do with my hair, so I had to learn on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-ridloff/as-a-biracial-person-my-family-at-first-didn-t-know-at-first-what-to/) [Lauren Ridloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-ridloff/) > [“Do I have to admit that I'm half Cuban and half American, or should I go even further, and explain that Dad's parents were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/do-i-have-to-admit-that-i-m-half-cuban-and-half-american-or-should-i/) [Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/) > [“When there is a gap—between your face and your race, between the baby and the mother, between your body and yourself—you are expected, everywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danzy-senna/when-there-is-a-gap-between-your-face-and-your-race-between-the-baby/) [Danzy Senna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danzy-senna/) > [Growing up biracial and speaking four languages - French, Chinese, Portuguese, and English - gave me a different lens. I was always very acutely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chai-vasarhelyi/growing-up-biracial-and-speaking-four-languages-french-chinese/) [Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chai-vasarhelyi/) > [When you're biracial, people sort of make you gray - you're not black, you're not white, you're sort of gray; you're 'other.' And I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunny-hostin/when-you-re-biracial-people-sort-of-make-you-gray-you-re-not-black/) [Sunny Hostin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunny-hostin/) > [Sometimes I even feel funny to say I'm in a biracial marriage because people are like, 'Oh, he's Asian?' The subtext is, 'Who cares?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-farr/sometimes-i-even-feel-funny-to-say-i-m-in-a-biracial-marriage-because/) [Diane Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-farr/) > [I think the idea that you're somehow rejecting whiteness if you don't identify yourself as biracial is odd because everybody engages in whiteness. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-harris-perry/i-think-the-idea-that-you-re-somehow-rejecting-whiteness-if-you-don-t/) [Melissa Harris-Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-harris-perry/) > [I never considered myself as part of a biracial family - we're just a family - but my parents are white, and my brother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-condor/i-never-considered-myself-as-part-of-a-biracial-family-we-re-just-a/) [Lana Condor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-condor/) > [I am a black woman, and of course, that's who I'm going to be playing, but I'm also biracial, and that's a different side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-harrier/i-am-a-black-woman-and-of-course-that-s-who-i-m-going-to-be-playing/) [Laura Harrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-harrier/) > [“I love ben”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-lisec/i-love-ben/) Anna Lisec > [My wife is from Jamaica. My ex-wife. My stepchildren - and then there's my son. So, it's a biracial family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-harvey/my-wife-is-from-jamaica-my-ex-wife-my-stepchildren-and-then-there-s/) [Larry Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-harvey/) > [I'm proud to be biracial, and there's a lot of people that say things like, 'I don't see color,' and I completely understand that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logic/i-m-proud-to-be-biracial-and-there-s-a-lot-of-people-that-say-things/) [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logic/) > [Never for one minute am I like, 'My husband, the white man, and our biracial children.' I never think about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-calderon-kellett/never-for-one-minute-am-i-like-my-husband-the-white-man-and-our/) [Gloria Calderon Kellett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-calderon-kellett/) [Browse all 44 Biracial quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biracial/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I saw her note the way I hovered over the various ethnicities on the form. First the 'white' box, then to the airspace over the 'black' box, a kind of momentary hesitation, a protest of stillness, a staring into the abyss of everything I did not know about myself. 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