I think these stereotypes of brown parents being uneducated, and
brown kids being awkward, 'naturally gifted' at science/maths or
anything academic are somewhat harmful. Because thereality is there's
context behind these situations- circumstances thatlead to all of these.
My parents ran the store as means of survival, becausethat's one job
they could do that earned enough to bring dinner atthe table. Yes,
their ability to speak the language wasn't the best,but they never had
time go fully learn while working so many hours aday. Even so, they
managed to learn enough+
to communicate and hold conversations with clients.They worked
really hard. And watching them as I was growing up,I used them as
roles in my life in some way. They taught me how valuableeducation
was, and just like they worked hard to support thefamily- I worked
hard to do well academically. The only reason I wasgood at STEM
subjects when I was young was because I spent a lotof time studying (I
had my fair share of fun too, however).
And growing up as the kid of immigrant parents isn'teasy. You mature
faster, but also need to learn and define so manyaspects of your
identity. And I think in my case, the awkwardnessin my childhood and
teenagehood came from not feeling like I belonged.My situation was
very different from that of my peers, and often feltmisunderstood
because I never really had someone that could relate.And that's not
great, especially when the situation at home becomesoverwhelming.
That took a tool in my mental health and still does,but I have met
people +
with similar experiences now, and that helped me dealwith so many
aspects of myself. So overall, I can say I am my ownperson and not a
stereotype, even though some aspects of my backgroundmight be
similar to assumptions people might make blindly.Because the truth is,
a lot of desi families come to the west to overcomesimilar struggles in
the homeland. But it's much different from the lightwith which these
assumptions paint my people. I have an insight nooutsider can have,
and I think that's what allows me to not let any harmfulstereotypes
affect me and even shed some light onto them.
A theoretical space without racism.
I think in such a space I would feel more capableof expressing my
experiences and my opinions on certain topics andfeel that I am given
the same consideration as everyone in the room. Iwould perhaps feel
more confident in my appearance, and my beliefs, andthe decisions I
make and stop second guessing myself about certainthings. And most
importantly, I would feel slightly less angry at thestate of the world
(given that there are so many other ongoing issuesas well).
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