“Indian” represented the most meaningful part of her—the culture and history she felt running through her blood; the language, food and music that made her feel at home. It was an inextricable, essential part of her; not just what she had been born with, but what she embraced. “American” represented the choices she’d made as an adult—the man she’d chosen to marry; the children she’d borne, Prem, with his love of baseball, and Karina with her stubborn independent streak. This was the place where she’d chosen to make a life, standing up and taking the oath of citizenship with tears in her eyes
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Is it human nature to put people in boxes (What are you?) or is it our nature to try to figure things out? I can remember being in grade school and it was common for the teacher to ask "what are you" with a raising of hands and we were all white. I'm 1/2 German and 1/2 Polish or I am 1/4 Norwegian and 3/4 Swedish and so on. At that time, most people in my class were no more than four different nationalities and all of the same race but as time goes on and we all become more and more mixed, I hope that it is no longer something that people feel a need to figure out.
