7
7 Write a gratitude list. (03/05/2023)
A list of things that I am grateful for.
My friends and my older sister. I don’t know how they still remained around me with all the stupid things I do but I am grateful that they stuck around and were there during my times of need whether I was feeling lonely or lost. It’s a grateful feeling knowing you have somebody that you can just call and talk with whether if you want to go watch a movie, play a game, checkout a new festival, or just have a drink with and let out all those deep thoughts.
Being American. In one sense, America has given me the most opportunities and success compared to my two previous homes, Hong Kong, and Nepal. I struggle a lot with learning foreign languages, especially the written portion of it but in America, you just need to learn how to read and write English.
-I never felt at home in my previous countries. In Nepal, my first home, I always felt like an outsider. I lived with my aunt’s family while my parents worked in Hong Kong. I looked lighter skin than your average Nepali boy so people used to call me “American kid”. My English was fluent but my Nepali was horrendous. Everytime I spoke Nepali, I had an accent and people would have difficulty understanding what I was saying. In Hong Kong, 95% of the population was Chinese and after 5 years of living there, I only learned enough cantonese to get around town and buy groceries from the wet market. It didn’t matter whether I learned Cantonese and excelled in school, I was still a non-chinese by blood. By Hong Kong law, I was banned from certain rights like voting and holding public offices. In America, I felt like home. It is a shit-show full of different races and different cultures often mixing and clashing with one another. That’s what I love about it. Nobody really fits in and nobody really knows what it means to be “American” other than freedom, guns, and fast food. I also relate with the origin story of America. It originally started as a colony full of people who immigrated because they wanted better opportunities or they didn’t fit back home.
Luck. I believe I am lucky, so far at least. I am naturally curious and love trying out new things. I rarely say no whenever people want my help and I also tag along to whatever others are doing. That has also gotten me into trouble at times because I get myself involved in things I don’t understand and often look like an idiot in front of everyone. On the other hand, I get to make all types of friends whether its through volunteering, being part of a club council on my second meeting, or asking a random stranger in an airport what project they are working on. (Yes, I did do that because a) she was cute, b) we were both waiting in transient lobby in Qatar airport, c) I was curious about what she was working on her laptop). Now that I think about it, that’s some stuff kids would do. As my friend Sam once said, “Immaturity is an essence of youth”.
