My Own Place In This Contradictory World

When I first moved to Troy I was astounded by the cultural diversity present here. All different cultures mixing together without reservations. It was like a mini melting pot in the big melting pot of America. The town I had moved from was a predominantly white town which made me feel like my skin color was something to be ashamed of as it stood out and was very different from the social norms there. This caused me to try to shake my culture off and try to assimilate myself into being the perfect American. I tried to loosen myself from any ties to my culture that I still had left, which surprisingly wasn't hard at all. I just gave up trying to fit in with the life of my parents and started to fit in with the life of my peers. However, when I moved to Troy I started to regret my actions. Seeing all of the different, unique people with their own cultures here started making me feel ashamed, yet again. My friends always joke that I'm not even Indian anymore. My tastes, experiences, preferences have all changed since I started denying that part of my identity. Now I regret this decision very much. I can't even speak my language fluently anymore or understand references to the culture. This was a very impactful realization because I realize that I should have tried to be a two in one combo, half American and half Indian. Instead of giving up in the battle against assimilation I should have reached a compromise. Now seeing my brother grow up and face some of the battles I did, I try to help him reach that compromise without completely giving up our culture. Helping him has helped me regain some of pieces I lost but what helped me the most were my parents who reached that healthy compromise without any help. They have found their own place as an immigrant family in a completely foreign country without losing their culture. My story relates to Amy Tan's story in how her family also realizes that the key to living comfortably in a society with a different culture is not complete assimilation, but finding a middle ground between cultures.