Kaur

As a Sikh woman, it is the act of giving selflessly that keeps my soul full. As a Sikh woman, I have been taught to give rather than receive. I share what I have and consume it together with my community. Where others have become victims of ethnocentric behaviours, my culture taught me how to make selfless giving my immediate friend. I am a product of ancestral struggles. My parents are from two different lands, and I am the bridge between them. The visions they have for me, it is my job to breathe into existence. The language they have taught me has provided me with more job opportunities. The stories they have shared with me, have softened my mentality. The very name I have been given, Kaur, unifies me with every other sister of colour around me. My culture dignifies me, it provides me with the endless opportunity to prosper in a world lacking authenticity. As an American, there is a struggle to feel free. But as a Sikh, I set fires just by being. It is being abundant in culture that give life more meaning.

- Reetu Oberoi