Being an Indian-American in the US

By: Ardra Trivedi

Being of Indian-American descent in the US has shaped me as a person because it has taught me the value of my culture and spurred an interest to learn more about where I come from. When I was in middle school, I would sometimes be afraid to eat roti that my mom had packed for me with love because I was afraid that someone would ask “ew, what’s that smell?” Thankfully, no one did, instead, they carried on eating their own ethnic foods. Which got me thinking, why should I be so ashamed of my identity while others cherish theirs? Another experience that I remember is not liking my name. My whole first name is Sai Ardra, but I go by Ardra. When people asked me for my whole first name I would shyly respond with Sai Ardra. But, as time went on, people told me that I had a beautiful and unique name. I was shocked. All these years I wished for an easier name to pronounce, but my name was “beautiful”? A realization hit me then and there- I was unique- my culture and identity were unique- what was so wrong about that? This was the point where I fully began to embrace my identity. I started to yearn for knowledge about Hinduism, and listen to all the stories that formed a deeper connection with my religion. If we are all unique and diverse in our own ways, we can enact a sense of unity and diversity in our world. Today I can proudly say that I am Indian.