Bilingual

 I've always been bilingual. As an Indian born in America, from the moment I started school I was exposed to two different cultures—my Indian heritage at home and the English language at school. Being completely fluent in Telugu when I was younger was a quality I wish I still had, instead as I continued going through the American school system I started losing that fluency, becoming a master in Tenglish. I combined most sentences into one mixed language, Telugu and English. It pained me when I had to often glance at the subtitles of Tollywood movies when they spoke too fast or had to guess the meaning of what my family members were saying cause I couldn't grasp everything. Unfortunately, I slowly passed this decrease in the fluency of my mother tongue onto my brother, who I spoke a great deal of English around, due to the English I was exposed to at school versus the Telugu my parents consistently spoke around me. I often feel sorry for my brother for this deficiency in language I caused him, and due to this, I find myself relating to the character, Omid in a way. My accent has often gotten in the way when speaking to my relatives in India. Though I don't hear my American accent when speaking Telugu, apparently it's very apparent to others, immediately marking me as 'different' to them. But besides this, I have always strived to be close to my Indian heritage, no matter my accent or not. Since a young age, I've learned the intricate dances of my culture, learned, read, and analyzed the stories and poems of my heritage, and have found the beauty of each part of my culture. Through this way, though I still sometimes feel disconnected from my motherland, I stay connected to my roots.