Large parts of my identities come directly from the roots of my cultural and religious identities. I have grown up in a conservative Muslim family in Canada. My parents, however, are from India. The person I grew up to be was shaped by the morals and values and rules of my religion, and the norms of both my cultures (Canadian and Indian).
I have grown up in Canada, and it is a society that has made me a person I might not be today if I were to have grown up in India. In Canada, my identities are more flexible; and enabled my desire to discover who I am. In India, I would have grown up to strict norms and rules and would have been frowned upon if I were to break those norms and rules. Canada has definitely provided me with the opportunity to truly discover who I am, without typical “Indian” constraints.
The mixed influence of Canadian culture and my religion has created me into a person that does her best to balance her identities. I identify myself as a Muslim, as a Shi’a (sect in Islam), as a Canadian, as an Indian, as a Sayyid (one who is a descendant of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh)), as a daughter, as a sister, as a granddaughter and niece, as a student, as a consumer, and as a friend. I am proud to be all these different identities and still be able to feel like I have an identity. For example, when my grandparents come to Canada every year in the summer, whenever I am at home my “granddaughter” side dominates. If I, let’s say, go out with my friends; I become a friend first and second the rest of my identities.
I have grown up in Canada, and it is a society that has made me a person I might not be today if I were to have grown up in India. In Canada, my identities are more flexible; and enabled my desire to discover who I am. In India, I would have grown up to strict norms and rules and would have been frowned upon if I were to break those norms and rules. Canada has definitely provided me with the opportunity to truly discover who I am, without typical “Indian” constraints.
The mixed influence of Canadian culture and my religion has created me into a person that does her best to balance her identities. I identify myself as a Muslim, as a Shi’a (sect in Islam), as a Canadian, as an Indian, as a Sayyid (one who is a descendant of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh)), as a daughter, as a sister, as a granddaughter and niece, as a student, as a consumer, and as a friend. I am proud to be all these different identities and still be able to feel like I have an identity. For example, when my grandparents come to Canada every year in the summer, whenever I am at home my “granddaughter” side dominates. If I, let’s say, go out with my friends; I become a friend first and second the rest of my identities.