Faiza K.
Photography by Shawn Bulloch
If you’re reading this, it’s okay to take time finding pride in who you are.
I am proud of my culture, of being born and raised by my parents with the values of my culture, but that didn’t happen overnight. For much of my life, I wasn’t ashamed of my culture – I was just indifferent to it. I am a Bangladeshi-American, but in the community I grew up in, I was the Bangladeshi-American. I had the fortune of growing up with people that looked like me, but fundamentally we were very different.
When we are children, regardless of the community we are born in, being American united us with the desire to eat pizza and mac and cheese, to listen to American pop music, and wear our basic tees from a ten pack from the store. But the older we got, we all began to embrace more of the cultural roots that many of our parents brought with them to this country of immigrants. My acceptance began, but in a discreet way that unintentionally hid the core differences between me and my friends. I blended in so completely that my entire friend group assumed I was Indian. Recognizing that my friends had no idea I was a different ethnicity truly called me out for how little I appreciated and discussed my culture, even with people I felt safe discussing my life with.
Now, coming into college and being welcomed by people of my ethnicity and life experience in cultural clubs and events has helped me express and feel so much more confident with my ethnicity. I’ve come to love and express my culture, my heritage, and my roots far more than before. I’m surrounded by people that love and support me – members of my culture and those who aren’t, but love me all the same. It can be hard to accept the parts of ourselves that our society doesn’t really align with, or isn’t shaped by. At the end of the day though, we are the product of multiple cultures and roots so it’s only fair that we shout them all from the rooftops, not just the one that makes other people feel comfortable.
Faiza K., University of Georgia
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