Roots are a part of what defines the individual. My roots are complicated by the fact that my parents’ nationality and culture contrasts with my own. Furthermore, having an identity different from the mainstream American culture have also presented some problems. However, despite the drawbacks, I came to realize that my roots have brought me where I am and has afforded me the opportunities to obtain a high level of education and climb the social ladder.
From my perspective, my paternal grandparents were a strange couple. My paternal grandfather was loud, disciplined and strict while while my grandmother was frail and soft spoken. My paternal grandfather, according to my father, enrolled in the Indian military right after high school for about 20 years. Although much is not known about my grandfather, he did not attend college after his time in the military. My paternal grandmother, before marriage, was a primary school teacher for about 20 years, retiring at around age 50. After marriage, they brought a house with a large plot of land (by New York standards) and raised three children: my aunt, my dad and my uncle. Coming from a relatively well off Indian family, my paternal grandparents encouraged their children to procure a quality education, resulting in all three of the children with professional degrees and settlement in US.
My maternal grandparents came from a more agricultural background. My maternal grandfather didn’t go to college but had enough business acumen to buy a plot of land with rubber trees and farm animals. The rubber from the trees, poultry from farm animals and other products were sold and served as a source of income. My maternal grandmother also did not receive post secondary education and married at age 17. They had six children who are all in India with the exception of my mother. My maternal grandparents were ardent supporters of the church which often motivated them to donate their gratuitous income to charity. According to my mother, schoolwork was not given as much importance as day to day farm work and church activities. Of all the six children, my mother was among the few that was able to get a relatively professional job.
My father attended the University of Kerala after high school, where he received a Bachelors degree in Statistics. Using that degree, he taught math at a high school level for about 15 years. He, then, became an accountant and moved to Kuwait to find a more stable job. After a few years there, he came to the US, where my aunt and uncle resided. Because of the recession, he wasn’t able to resume his job as an accountant and, instead, worked in a postal service. Because of my father’s high level of education, he has encouraged me to have high academic ambitions.
My mother was the first one in her family to graduate college and procure a professional career. During high school, she often reiterated that she had to do both farm work and schoolwork, emphasizing how easy my life is in America. After high school, she enrolled in a nursing school and, after numerous years of schooling, became a nurse. She, then, moved with my father to Kuwait because of the better employment opportunities. After working in Kuwait, she took a test which allowed her to practice nursing in New York.
My experience in many different countries, India, Kuwait and US, exposed me to many different cultures and ideas. In Kuwait, for instance, I went to an Indian medium school, meaning that the curriculum was closely tied to Indian values as well as some Middle Eastern values. Such curriculum also emphasized the need to value knowledge and, when I made the transition to American schools, gave me a distinct perspective of the opportunities and privilege that were available to me. Simply put, my family’s immigration between countries not only gave me a taste of culture but also gave rise to many of the ideas and notions that I hold dear today.
From my perspective, the most fruitful privilege that I received from my family history is the desire to obtain a high level of education. One of the most memorable quotes that my parents often voiced when I was young was “Don’t place books near or on your feet because it is a form of disrespect,” meaning that books provide knowledge and that knowledge should not be mistreated. This quote and its implications reverberated with me and turned me into who I am today because I was taught that learning should be given a high priority in one’s life. I have often hypothesized that such a notion arises from either the culture that my parents were brought up in or because they had received post secondary education. In Indian culture, the feet are considered the most unclean part of the body because it comes in contact with the dust and dirt of the floor. In this light, it makes sense that books shouldn’t be present anywhere near the feet. Secondly, because my parents have received a post secondary education, they have come to view education as a means to climb the social ladder, a perspective that I’ve inherited.
My roots also offer me a sense of financial security despite the fact that my family is the first generation to take root in America. Because my dad is the second oldest sibling in his family we relied on my aunt to provide us with shelter when we first arrived to America. Furthermore, my dad’s younger brother arrived in America before we did, offering a greater sense of security. My mom, after coming to America, was able to obtain a job a nurse which meant that my family was well off soon after coming to America. Though my dad was initially unable to secure a job, he was able to procure a job in a post office while we were living in my aunt’s house.
My roots as an immigrant are also a source of disadvantage. As the oldest child in my family, I have the challenge of finding out firsthand the difficulty of how American customs, culture and education differs from India’s. For instance, when applying to colleges, I could not rely on my parents’ knowledge because they didn’t know what it was like to apply to colleges in the US. In other words, their experiences in India were completely different from my experience in America. Furthermore, because I have a younger brother, I have to set a good example for my brother so that he too can benefit from the educational resources afforded to him. Despite the diversity that different cultures offer to American society, my roots also made me aware of the culture difference between me and people that I’ve interacted with, often making forming relationships between people harder than normal.
