One might think that the question "where are you from?" is a straightforward question with a straightforward answer, but for me it's like a multiple choice question on a test. There are so many different answers, but which one do I pick? You see I was born in Ohio and lived there for twelve years, I lived in India for six months, then moved to New Jersey for three years, then moved to Arizona for four years, and now I go to school in Massachusetts. Oh, and to top it all off, my parents are from India.
Being bicultural is an interesting experience actually because telling people I'm simply American has never really been a good enough answer. I mean I get it. I don't exactly look like what anyone would imagine as a "typical american", you know blonde hair and blue eyes; I have the dark hair and tan skin that I guess everyone wants to have these days. Honestly when people ask me where I'm from, my answer really depends on how much of my life story I feel like sharing; so far the simple answer is that I live in Arizona (well my parents and my cat do). However, I still don't ever really know what to say; giving me the chance to make something up that will hopefully invoke further questions regarding my origin. I mean legally, I'm American. Culturally, I'm neither American nor Indian. For Americans I'm Indian, and for anyone else I'm American. I'm neither here, nor there, but in between. In the most politically correct way, I'm Indian-American.
When I was younger, this whole bicultural thing was something I had a lot of trouble with because like all kids, I wanted to be just like everyone else. I wanted to be a blonde haired blue eyed child; in fact I wanted to look like Britney Spears when I was five. I legitimately thought that since I wasn't a blonde haired blue eyed child and I didn't look one bit like Britney that I wasn't pretty because I didn't fit the societal standard of beauty. I just wanted to be American, like all the other kids around me. The problem with wanting to fit in and making an effort to do so was that I knew all along that I was different, but I didn't know how to embrace it.
Over the years I've gotten used to a multiple ways in which people mispronounce my name, and deciding whether or not it's even worth the effort to correct them. My parents helped me out a little bit by phonetically spelling my name, only really because they didn't want me to be called kritty (or as my friend likes to say, "Kitty with an 'R'") for the rest of my life. My name is Krithi, however it's actually supposed to be spelled Kriti. I've now learned how to alternatively pronounce my name so that depending on who I'm introducing myself to, I can either use the "American" pronunciation, the "Indian" pronunciation, and sometimes even the "French" pronunciation-- I speak English, Hindi and French that's why there are three pronunciations. All three pronunciations are correct, I just get to choose which one I want people to use--it's kind of entertaining. I mean I basically get to dictate whether or not I think people will be capable of pronouncing my name in a certain way without actually knowing anything about their linguistic abilities--it sounds really manipulative, and it is, but I do it just to make everyone's life easier. I do like my name actually, I think it's cool that it has a meaning and how the meaning of my name has I think, by coincidence, has been quite fitting for me. In Hindi, Kriti means talented or creative; funnily enough I actually do like doing creative things. As far as talented goes, yes, there are things I'm good at and I enjoy pursuing; I guess I'm slowly building on that aspect of my name.
To conclude, I'm really fortunate that I've been able to accept the multiple parts of my identity and adapt to all of the places I've lived throughout my life. I've been able to also meet people who have similar experiences to myself, as well as people who are genuinely interested in getting to know me and not just associating with me because I'll be that one "different" friend that they have in their life. My biculturalism has taught me to be appreciative of all kinds of cultures and different types of people. Honestly, I've also been able to learn a lot about myself through being able to represent two very different cultures throughout my life and understand that diversity is what makes the world an interesting place. If you ask me where I'm from, please only ask because you actually want to know not because I don't look like I'm "supposed" to belong in your country/society. Also don't be surprised if it takes me while to answer, I'm not offended--it's just complicated, but hey life is complicated! I might also ask you the same question, not because you asked me, but because everyone's origin is different and we all have unique backgrounds and I genuinely want to know. At the end of the day, we're all residents of planet Earth and citizens of the world regardless of where we come from.
If you already know me, I hope you've gotten to maybe know me better now. If you don't know me, Hi, nice to meet you and welcome to my life!
xx -Krithi
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