“Go back to your country,”
“Go back to where you came from!”
“Curry lover.”
“look at that big red dot on your forehead!”
I’ve heard it all. Which, as a U.S. born Citizen… feels surreal. Out of my entire family, I am the first to be born in the United States, though my heritage and ancestry span continents.
Originally, my ancestors are from India’s northernmost region, Punjab, to be exact, but the story does not start from there, though.
No, the story begins with my ancestors integrating with the Greeks, the Romans, the Persians, the Afghanis, the Mongols, and essentially the multitudes of other ethnicities that dreamt of India’s wonders and sought to conquer, trade in it, or subjugate it.
With each new group, with each new conquest, and with each new age, my ancestors survived, thrived, and grew. In a time where there were no universal laws or rules, my bloodline prevailed. And through all this time, they paved the course of my path, the purpose of my being, to one day be here, sitting in this very chair, typing these words out for anyone to read and digest.
Through famine, war, disease, political intrigue, migration, poverty, wealth, my ancestors ensured I would be here one day.
In a land that would be alien to them, but to me, it is all I have ever known to be home.
Here in this nation –
I scraped my knees for the first time, rollerblading.
I played handball in the public parks against the bigger boys.
I saw scobby-doo and sang along to its theme song E.V.E.R.Y. T.I.M.E.
I enjoyed my first pop-song – NSYNC
I had my first school detention
My first beat up after school.
My first fish, turtle, bird, dog, and now cat pet
My first best friend
My first kiss
My first love
My first heartbreak
My first Slurpee (My first brain freeze)
My first pizza
My first BaconEgg&Cheese
My first educational degree (Then my second first master’s degree)
My first credit card
My first job
My first paycheck
My first exposure to death
My first breakdown
My first sense of accomplishment…
You see, this country was my first for everything, as I was the first of my family to be born here. So when you tell me to go back to where I came from, where do you think that place is?
How could you know what it took, the sacrifices, the pain, the defeats, the victories, and the resilience and determination it took to ensure that I would be here one day?
They couldn’t know, but you, dear reader, you now know.
The next time someone decides to tell you to go back to where you came from, take a moment and realize you are everything your ancestors hoped, prayed, traveled, worked, fought, and died for to be here.
You are your bloodline’s greatest achievement.
And just like you, I am here to stay, to grow, to achieve, and to inspire.
What are your detractors here to do?
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