Bhuttaboogie

Archive for the ‘“Me to We” Narratives’ Category

Me to We

My name is Yaasen Bhutta and I lived in Brooklyn for almost my entire life. My mother and father grew up in Pakistan, and I was born there in February of 1993. My family decided to move back to the US when I was 7 months old, and I’ve been here since. When I say move back, I mean that my parents had lived in New Jersey for a few years before deciding to go back to Pakistan. After I was born, my father realized that the educational opportunities were better in America, so we headed for New York.

My mother grew up in an upper middle class family, which lived affluently in a relatively high-class neighborhood. My father lived in a neighborhood that would be considered low class, but his father was well respected within the community. From what I know, my paternal grandfather was a builder, who constructed the house his family lives in now with his bare hands. I don’t know much about my paternal grandmother, who passed away when my father was a teen, but from his and my uncle’s stories, I know that she was as tough as nails and instilled discipline in all five of her children. My maternal grandparents were more or less the same. My grandfather worked long and hard to become successful, so he didn’t spend much time with his kids, but my grandmother more than made up for it with her strong and loving personality.

My story isn’t as exciting as my parents’ story. I grew up in Canarsie, and lived there until I was 12. I went to public school 115 and made a bunch of friends in elementary school, and I talk to many of them on a regular basis. When I was in middle school, I moved to the Midwood section of Brooklyn, and it was odd seeing so many Pakistanis in my neighborhood, because there were very few in Canarsie. My sisters and I protested the move at first, mainly because we were used to living in Canarsie, but after 6 years, I can say that I’m glad we made the change. Canarsie isn’t exactly the safest neighborhood in Brooklyn, although it’s not the worst, and my new home was right by Midwood High School and Brooklyn College. And that’s about it for my life so far.