Our parents are always on our tails about our grades. One of the most annoying issues us Indian-American girls face at home concerns education. We constantly struggle to keep a balance between our roots while trying to keep pace with the American way of life – landing us in sticky situations that we may look back on and laugh, maybe feel sad, and sometimes even mad.
Whatever our background, we’ve all had similar experiences. It can be hard for parents to give their kids the freedom that comes from living in a liberal country like the US, and it can be hard for us girls to understand and accept where our parents are coming from. Being raised by parents who have followed a more or less traditional route isn’t easy. For Indian-American girls, America isn’t a place foreign to us but rather to our culture. From the beginning, the American way of life has been a very fast paced one, and in today’s generation especially it can be hard for an Indian-American girl to establish her own identity.