I am privileged. Profoundly, unequivocally privileged, because I was loved from the beginning. And not only loved but I was also supported.
Both of my parents were born in Southern India in extremely conservative families. My grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, second cousins and even the dog next door were all exceedingly religious, traditional, sexist, and absolutely cliche-ridden. Now, science may declare that parents pass down most of their traits to their children, but my parents are living proof that not all children inherit their parents’ traits. I mean my parents are nothing like my grandparents. In fact, they’re the exact opposite.
After my parents and I moved from India to the United States, I had an extremely hard time adjusting to the new environment. Even after I started school, I always felt like the odd one out which given some time, began affecting my education. I started to hate learning and going to school. I let down my parents more times than I would like to admit when I was younger. Whether it was being incapable of receiving the grades they wanted, not working as hard as I should have, or lying about working when I wasn’t, my parents still had strong confidence in me from childhood.
Now, unlike my parents, when we occasionally went to India to visit my cousins, I watched the verbal and physical abuse their parents put them through just because they forgot to do a chore, or weren’t the smartest kid in their class. I'm not saying that my aunts and uncles are horrible people who aren’t fit to raise kids. I’m just saying that their style of parenting is a little archaic and quite incompetent. After all, the most fundamental thing a parent can do is love, encourage, support, and guide their kids to be the best that they can be. Unfortunately, that’s not a familiar concept in India.
I was baffled by the complete, and utter difference between my parents and my cousins’ parents. My aunts and uncles were strict and impatient, while my parents were compassionate and understanding. And in that moment, I truly realized how privileged I was. Later that year, I really pulled myself together and began working really hard at school. I would not only do the homework my teacher assigned, but I would also complete the extra credit problems and stay ahead of the class which for a 5th grader was quite impressive. Before I knew it, I had regained my passion for learning and was hungry for more. I came to school every day eager to learn and left every day completely satisfied.
Throughout my life, I’ve learned to be happy and look at things in a positive way because that's how I was raised. I’m passionate, hardworking, and ambitious and most of all I have a great family. My family loves to have fun, make jokes, and live life to the absolute fullest. No matter what, my dad has a positive attitude and constantly wants to make others laugh. And my mom has advice for me that I can apply to every aspect of my life. The values my parents cultivated in me have helped me in more ways than one. I have embodied these values in all aspects of my life and they have enabled me to grow as an individual. My parents never restricted my aspirations but encouraged me to aim higher and attain the greatest achievements in my life. It was because of their support that my life’s philosophy has been anchored on hard work. And for that, I will always be grateful to them.