I am very obviously Black but for years I did all I could to behave in a way that didn’t make my white friends feel uncomfortable, to the detriment of my own comfort and self-discovery. I avoided making cultural references that they wouldn’t know – like Chris Rock jokes – and forced myself to watch TV shows that I considered to be nothing short of dire, like Gavin and Stacey. All of this, combined with my genuine interest in skiing and classic rock bands like The Rolling Stones, meant that my attempts to assimilate were so successful that my white friends actually poked fun at me for not being 'Black enough'.