Being Multiracial in America

The race question in the US census 

America is commonly called "the melting pot" because of the population being comprised of people from all different ethnic backgrounds. In American Studies today, we discussed how people identify with their ethnicities and how they refer to themselves. As a biracial American, I refer to myself as half Filipino and half Russian. Easy. The hard part is when it comes to standardized testing or other scenarios (usually involving filling out forms) that only allow you to fill in the bubble for one race. Ideally, I would fill in "white" and "Pacific Islander." But in reality I'm forced to choose one. I don't feel that I identify with one side more than the other, so I always find myself pausing and thinking--then struggling to catch up and fill out the rest of the form when this question arises.

I find this interesting because, if the US is supposedly a "melting pot," why are people sometimes forced to identify with only one of the many races they may be? If there is going to be a question about race on standardized tests, there should at least be the option to fill in 2 spots, like how it's done in the US census (seen above). In fact, more American teenagers today are starting to identify as "multiracial," as seen in this article from the New York Times.  I think this is a positive thing because our country is unique in the sense that everybody has a different background. Being able to identify based on race or ethnicity gives people a sense of cultural and family pride
How do you identify based on race/ethnicity, and why? Why (or why not) do you think these kinds of identification are important in the US? Please comment below!!