Blog

Family, Growing Up / 21.12.2016

You don’t ever forget your first Star Wars movie. It doesn’t matter what Episode you watched, it leaves a bit of an imprint on you or in my case a lasting impression. Only 10 months earlier had my family immigrated to the United States from Pakistan to a suburb of Chicago called Bellwood. My English was getting better every day but I was still struggling to adjust. As the story is told to me (I’ve tried desperately to block it out but it is true- 100%), it took two grown adults to drag me to school every single day for the...

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Mindfulness / 04.12.2016

I have a secret- I can slow down time during times of stress and turmoil but most importantly during moments of great love and light. I control the moment to fit my need. I don’t just take a mental photograph. I hold that moment for an infinite amount of time until it exists permanently, etched in my heart, engrained in my mind for a lifetime. That moment resonates long after it has passed, reminding me of why I am here, why we are all here. The holidays bring with them an onslaught of light and joy, over-stimulation of the senses; it...

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Growing Up / 23.11.2016

As a teenager, especially an immigrant teenager, you long for nothing more than to be “normal” in America. You want to be Samantha as opposed to Samita. You want a white picket fence, apple pie cooling in the window, a mom, dad, and siblings living under one roof, and the smell of turkey on Thanksgiving. After moving to Southern California from Chicago, my name was still Samita, our fence blew down every time the Santa Ana winds raged through Rialto (my father and the other neighbors decided to put the fence up after every “windy season” and for a few months...

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Politics / 08.11.2016

There are many labels that can be placed on me- woman, person of color, Muslim immigrant, educator, bi-racial marriage, plus a slew of others. The label that I choose for myself is spiritual being. This defines my existence. I must always see a person first and foremost for their essence- the holy place where God, love, and humanity reside. As I walked into my local church and polling place, I carried my ancestors, my human ancestors that have given me the honor to let my voice be heard. There are countless souls who gave of life so many of us could...

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Politics / 15.10.2016

In the last year, I have heard more people on the news, on the radio, and in articles referring to our political climate as a circus- a spectacle of sorts here to entertain. Our family ran away with the circus 10 years ago and it is one of the best decisions we have ever made. The Great Y Circus in Redlands, California is the longest running, all volunteer based circus in the world. We just happen to choose this city to raise our kids and thank God we did! The circus has become our family. First, it’s long hours- days, weeks and...

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Family / 12.09.2016

Some of my favorite people on this Earth were born during the month of February: my two brothers, two of my best friends, and my twin sons. They are all spectacular human beings who have played a hand in me being the woman I am today, but one above all others has been my saving grace- Sarim Bhai. Sarim and I are 15 months apart, born to a child bride whose marriage was arranged by her aunt to the neighbor’s divorced son, father of two, and under a misunderstanding to say the least. Once anyone on either side of my family...

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Love, Stories / 21.08.2016

I’ve never thought our love story was unique: Boy meets girl. They talk and date for five years. They get married. Boy happens to be Jewish and girl happens to be Muslim. My prince didn’t ride in on a white steed nor was I a damsel in distress. He in-line skated all over our college campus with a camera around his neck while I worked two jobs to put myself through college. He was the photographer for our college paper and I a news writer. We collaborated together on our first assignment, a behind-the-scenes look at the historical Mission Inn in...

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Humanity, Politics, Religion / 02.08.2016

Immigrating has never been an easy journey. As an immigrant from Pakistan, in the fall of 1979, where my family was comfortable in their surroundings to the harsh, bleak winter of Chicago was an extreme change. Besides the weather, there was the language, environment, norms, holidays, and so much more to adjust to. But the most fascinating were all the different people. In Pakistan we lived in a homogenous neighborhood, but in Chicago my six-year-old self delighted in the variety of human variations. There was an Italian family a few houses down the street who gave me my first taste of...

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Love / 04.07.2016

How do you wish someone a happy birthday knowing that it hasn’t been the best of years or even the best of lifetimes? Do you fake your way through platitudes, not expressing the reality of her condition- trying to “fix” her even though she just wants to talk? It’s taken me years, decades actually, to be at peace with just bearing witness to someone’s pain, their situation; holding a place of reverence for them while they are with me, not trying to “fix” anyone or anything, so I shall do just that- listen to her, love her and empathize with...

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Immigrant / 24.06.2016

One day I woke up and realized that my dreams no longer contained my native tongue, Urdu, from Pakistan but the language of America- English. When it happened a part of me was lost forever. I was around seven years old. My paternal grandparents, the only grandparents I have ever known, Daada and Daadi migrated from India, their ancestral homeland to Pakistan in 1947. In 1979, during political turmoil and within a corrupt country, Daada and Daadi decided it was time to migrate again but this time to Umrica. As immigrants, refugees, and dreamers there is much we are willing to sacrifice...

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