*I was about 23 at the time, my niece was thirteen. I am 4’11” and she was well over five feet. I was wearing a hoody, no make-up and my hair was a frizzy mess. She was wearing nice clothes, a full face of makeup (Not trashy but you can tell she was wearing makeup) and her hair was done nicely. I should also point out that I have a very young looking face, I get mistaken for a teenager all the time. We were walking through a little field that has a well worn path that everyone uses on our way to the store. A police officer pulls in front of us and approaches us*

Officer: “Do you two realize that this is private property?”

Me: “Oh, no. Sorry. We were just cutting through since everyone does.” *It’s a fifteen foot distance*

Officer, not looking at me, looking only at my niece: “I could write you up for a ticket, but I’m going to let you off with a warning.”

Niece and I: “Yes sir, thank you.”

Officer: “And you,” *He points at my niece* “need to set a better example for her!” *He points at me*

Niece: “…Yes…sir?”

*The officer leaves and my niece looks at me*

Niece: “Wait…did he think that *I* was the grown-up?!”

*We still laugh about this*

Note: I am a black girl

I’m out with some friends, getting brunch, and our Topic turns to books, since most of us are avid readers.

Me: I really want the white Billy bookshelves from Ikea, but they’re so expensive because they’re so popular! Almost everyone on BookTube has them!

Friend 1: What’s BookTube?

Me: It’s a section of YouTube where all they talk about is books and writing.

Friend 2: Why don’t you get the brown or black bookshelves?

Me: I just think the white bookshelves look nicer.

Friend 2: But you don’t have to get the white bookshelves. You can always get the black bookshelves.

Friend 3: Are you saying this because she’s black?

Friend 2: blushes

The family and I have just entered a well know fast food restaurant, stepped up to the counter, and begun to order our hamburgers. As none of us are vegetarian, our aunt’s order of a vegetarian burger throws us for a loop, but we finish up, grab our peanuts and sit down to talk while the staff work through the large order.

After we get our food, pass it out, and dig in, the aunt is surprised that her burger has no meat on it. Cue “Are you serious?” looks from everyone else at the table. After trying, and failing to explain that vegetarian means no meat, she returns to the counter and brow beats them onto making my another burger for her, with the rest of us trying to be invisible.

The next day, we returned and apologized for the situation to everyone involved. How they kept their composure during all of that, I will never know. We stopped by from time to time until we moved a few years later. We made certain she was never with us.

My Mom and I both need to get some blood tests done, so we head to our GP’s office. One of the tests I need requires the sample to be frozen/kept cold during transport – which I have to go to the hospital for as the GP’s office can’t do that for some reason – so I’m just there to pick up the requisition. While we’re standing in line at the counter to pick up, I jokingly “predict” that they’re going to mix them up, as they look for the patient’s last name and the GP ordering the work. When our turn comes up, Mom gives the receptionist her info, and the receptionist promptly hands Mom her requisition.

Mom goes to sit down in the waiting area while I step up to the counter and give the receptionist my info. She flips through her binder for a minute or two before she tells me she can’t find my requisition and asks for my info again, which I give. Again, she goes through her binder and comes up short. It’s at this point that Mom, who has been going over her requisition while waiting to be called in, comes up to the counter again.
“[My name], they gave me you requisition…”
The recepionist apologises profusely, but Mom and I just laugh it off while Mom’s requisition is found and handed over. We sit down to wait, and Mom tells me that she was going over the tests and was confused by some of them, especially the one that needed to be frozen. She went through it four times before she noticed that the name at the top was not hers.
My Mom and I share two surnames (her maiden name + my Dad’s last name) and a GP so I’m not entirely surprised, even if our first names share no similarities and there’s a 30+ year age difference between us.

Let it be noted that I’m not from anywhere in the Americas and don’t speak Spanish, whereas my friend is from Texas and does, so I’m slightly more excusable for dropping the ball on this one….

Me: Hey, which South American countries are on the equator?
Friend: There must be some but I can’t think of them right now.
Me: [checks Google Maps] Oh! ECUADOR!

[For what it’s worth, bits of Colombia and Brazil as well]