Prospective Father: Are you a student here?
Me: Yes, I am.
Prospective Father: Where are you from?
Me: Arkansas but originally Pakistan.
Prospective Father: Where in Pakistan? We are from India. (note: only this man was there, no family with him.)
Me: Karachi — most of my family is there.
Prospective Father: We know people in Lahore.
Me: That’s nice. I lived in Islamabad briefly, too.
Prospective Father: What are you studying?
Me: English and Film.
Prospective Father: Oh. Bye. (exits Honors College office.)
Some words of wisdom to the parent of a soon to be finance student:
Stop reinforcing to both your self and your child that you can only uphold certain values. You can interact with both those who claim South Asian heritage and those who don’t. You can study both finance and art. You will not be less intelligent, less successful, or less sociable. In fact, you will profit from the diversity you allow yourself.
Oh, by the way, stop expecting me to be just like you because we have similar amounts of melanin in our skin. It doesn’t mean anything more than how much vitamin D we need to take in to exist in the climates in which we live.
The other day, I was outside an Italian bakery with my girlfriend and some family when one of the last living members of the infantry unit, Big Red One, introduced himself to us. My brother started talking to him about the military, immediately monopolizing his attention. When I extended my hand and asked him what his name was, he literally pulled his hand away, turned his back to me, and continued talking to my brother.
In other words, “Amen.”
This is fantastic.