More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Read between
August 25 - December 18, 2024
We work hard, we dress modestly, we focus on what is important to succeed. That is why we came to this country, and we won’t waste our opportunity, or change who we are.
Venba里也是这样一家人,从老家搬到美国发展,孩子面临文化的冲突,内心产生矛盾。
caught between the life I want to lead and the one she thinks I should.
kanna
Venba里好像也叫kanna。
Amma is always in motion.
It brings me right back to that woozy place between sky and ground, where flecks float like dust in a beam of sunlight.
But most important, you work hard. That is valued in this country. You will be anything you want to be.
kaleidoscopic
Red, white, and whole, the precious river in our arteries, our veins, our hearts.
God has many faces, many forms, male and female, human and animal, and forms we cannot imagine. This is why we do not hurt people, or harm animals. Why we do not eat meat. God’s wisdom is in paper and books. So we do not disrespect them or touch them with our feet. God is everywhere. And I believe it, because I hear God in Daddy’s humming as he shaves, feel God in Daddy’s kiss good night, smell God in the silk of Amma’s sari, see God reflected in her shining eyes, and taste God in the spicy, sweet, piping hot food we eat together. Our parents are God, their words are law.
It feels like we’ve already entered the future, while they only live in the past.
But I am always halfway, caught between the life my parents want and the one I have to live.
Perhaps in another life, she says with a faraway look.
Words can hurt, and words can heal.
“You don’t have to worry about living in two worlds. You live in only one world, and that is the world in which we love you. No matter what your choices are. We raised you, we trust you, and we love you.”
His house is old and charming, with ivy creeping up the side, thick glass panes on the wooden door. We step inside, and I see scuffed wooden floors covered in patterned rugs comfortable couches clothed in soft fabrics walls dotted with paintings and family photos. There is a sweet scent in the air.
很美的房子,很舒适的居住环境。
We have grilled cheese sandwiches cut into triangles and fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.
Together, we decide that a hero: Is brave, but not without fear. Because if you fear nothing, how can you be brave? Says what they believe is right. Because if you cannot say what you believe in, how much do you believe in it? Works to make the world better. Because doing something is even more important than talking about it. Acts out of love for others. Because caring for other people is the biggest difference between a hero and a villain.
Together, we rival the stars in their brightness.
A mother gives you life, nourishes you, protects you, helps you when you’re hurt. But sometimes it feels like too much.
Yeah, I say as the heat rises in my face.
Like our moon, she only shows us one face. The strong one.
A tear slides down my cheek a tiny drop that becomes an ocean.
If she can smile, so can I.
I dream that I am sinking and there is no bottom.
We eat together, the piping hot spicy sweet food, for the first time in what feels like forever.
You can be anything you want to be. You haven’t yet decided.
My heart beats in my ears.
I spend my days taking tests, working on projects, trying to keep my head above the river of worry I swim in every day.
A hero is brave, but not without fear. Says what they believe is right.
Works to make the world better. Acts out of love for others.
A mother is like life’s blood Nourishing you Protecting you Helping you stop hurting Until she is gone. I am still here, but she cannot stay.
You, my girl, should take your gifts and your hard work and do whatever you want with them. Be a doctor, if you like. Or be a poet, or an actress, or a mother who stays at home with her children. Or all of these things together. Surround yourself with good people, and be happy. And know this: you belong. You belong to this country, where you are growing up. And you belong to India, where your blood is from. You belong to both, and they both belong to you. You will find your way in making those two streams one. You will write your own story, and it will be beautiful, because it is yours.
你可以成为你想成为的任何人。做一个快乐的人吧！
Work hard. Be good to yourself, and reach for joy, in whatever form that takes.
It hasn’t always been easy, but I’ve learned to accept this feeling of living in different worlds, because it’s part of what makes me who I am, and even more important, it’s what all of us feel.
