Who am I? A Personal Statement.

"I think you are a Westerner." With these words my geography teacher switched off his computer and walked out, leaving me in great conflict within myself. "What am I?"

Maybe A little background information on me is needed before I proceed.

I am of Persian ethnicity, 2 months after being born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I was brought to China. I grew up in a city called Dalian, a half an hour drive from Lu Shun, formally known as Port Author. I went through Chinese public schooling until the end of 8th grade. Skipped the 9th grade and went to a half Chinese half Canadian school for 10th grade. In order to enroll in the IB program, I moved to Beijing on my own in the beginning of my 11th year of High school.

Before I started international schooling in Beijing, everything other than my face was Chinese, I had the same political views as the Chinese did, disliked the Americans (therefore disliked myself) as much as they did when the Chinese embassy was bombed in 1999 in Serbia.

Map of Baton Rouge in 1863

Louisiana State Capitol, Baton Rouge

Seal of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

My love of the Sciences was probably a product of Chinese schooling as well. After I came to Beijing, I started learning looking at China from a foreign view, yet I am still able to understand the Chinese fully.

What else would I be? I could be a Persian, since I speak Persian at home and understand its history and culture, due to strong influence of my maternal and paternal grandparents. Though my mom was born in Ohio and raised in Louisiana, and my father went through primary and secondary schooling in India. But the Persian culture is strongly engraved in our family setting.

I could be an American, I was born in the states, have been all around it.