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My Own Introduction

As we start reading a new book, we are often introduced to the characters, setting, and conflicts. As we learn about the characters in The Great Gatsby, I thought I would share more about myself.








My ethnicity is more complicated than most would think. Especially due to the large Indian American population at Troy High, many assume that I fall into that category as well. However, my maternal grandparents immigrated to the United States in the early '70s from Afghanistan. My paternal grandfather was born in Iran, but my paternal grandmother's place of birth is much more complicated. My grandmother was born in India a couple of months before the Partition. As she is a Sikh, her family was forced to travel across the border and leave behind all of their belongings in Pakistan. She grew up in India (although she was born in present-day Pakistan). My mother grew up in Buffalo, NY and my father, born in Houston, TX, grew up in New Orleans, LA. 

This diverse background and unique experiences have shaped the person I am today. However, many of the places in which my grandparents were born no longer hold much significance to me. In fact, traveling to these countries could easily leave me killed the second I touch the soil. A place I have always felt tied to is Punjab, which brings me to my religious identity.

23 out of 26 million Sikhs (5th largest religion in the world), live in the state of Punjab. Most of the other 3 million have a deep-rooted ancestral history in the Punjab region. That left me in the tiny minority of Sikhs who don't truly have that connection. 






Although I have conflicting identities, I have learned to accept all these different facets of myself. They make me unique and special :)

Comments

  1. Pranayi GhorpadeOctober 8, 2023 at 10:26 AM

    I really love how you dived deep into your family's history and talked about your background. It was interesting to read and learn more about who you are as an individual.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jaspreet SinghOctober 8, 2023 at 12:39 PM

    That’s so cool because I’m Sikh as well! I loved how you traced your identity back to your grandparents and how your own personal experiences are similar to character introductions in The Great Gatsby.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Erin JeongOctober 8, 2023 at 12:56 PM

    I really liked how you chose to introduce yourself in a way similar to how characters are introduced in books! I enjoyed learning about your heritage and family history too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dhruti BhatOctober 8, 2023 at 5:06 PM

    This was so interesting to read! It's really cool how you talked about your family history and how it impacts you. I can relate to this so much. I also loved how you wrote this like the introduction of characters in The Great Gatsby.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Shayuri PatelOctober 8, 2023 at 7:13 PM

    I really like how you talked about your family's history in depth and about your background.

    ReplyDelete

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