Switching in Two Different Worlds - Personal Essay

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the day because of work, school, and to communicate with the majority in society. However, when there is the opportunity, I love to code-switch to speaking Armenian because at my core, it is the language I take most pride in. I have felt, along with Anzaldúa that “Ethnic Identity is the twin skin of linguistic identity-I am my language. Until I can take pride in language, I cannot take pride in myself” (Anzaldúa 39).

I also take pride in Armenian traditions and holidays. In America, people tend to open gifts and throw big parties on Christmas, but Armenians do that on New Year’s. Being American, I still buy gifts for my friends on Christmas and attend parties for the holiday celebration, but maintain the Armenian tradition of partying and buying gifts for the family on New Year’s. Every year, I anxiously wait for the holiday season to eat my aunt’s blinchiks and grandma’s baklava. Even if I have enjoyed eating fast food and tolerated lunch food provided by my schools, I am always waiting to get home and eat the delicious Armenian dishes prepared by my loving family. At my friends Barbeques, we usually eat hamburgers, hotdogs, or tacos. With Armenian people, we do a form of barbeque called xorovats, which is my favorite. I wanted to learn to make both forms of barebqbue to be able to create it in different circumstances. My grandfather told me that people have been making xorovats (Armenian BBQ) for thousands of years. With my English speaking friends, I have been accustom to baking and making cookies and brownies, but I now try to learn traditional Armenian food and desserts from my family members. I enjoy doing these things with family, primarily my grandmothers. I feel connected two both my cultural because I bake chocolate chip cookies or pyraniks, depending on my cravings. I want to be capable of preparing the same delicious meals for my children, just as my parents have done for me, and their parents have done for them.

As I have grown older, I increasingly understand that my language, history, and culture are all a significant elements of my identity, and it is important to protect it wherever I am in the world. I feel if I am stripped of them or exclude them, I am losing my cultural heritage, and therefore, losing myself. There is nothing more in life that I value and love more than family. I code-switch to understand my own identity and retain the relationships that bind me with my ancestry and family. It is the code-switching that allows me to live in and connect to the American society, while allowing me to keep the connection with my culture that has been instilled in my family for generations. By embracing my heritage and continuing my family traditions, I am playing an important role in helping my culture stay alive. If everyone who flees Armenia forgets his or her national origins and neglects the culture because of the new linguistic spaces, then the Armenian cultural diaspora will one day reach extinction due to the assimilation into other cultures. My grandparents escaped from Armenia to the Republic of Georgia during the Armenian Genocide and they held onto the Armenian culture. They spoke Russian and Georgian, but did not separate from their language. My parents then moved to the United States and continued to hold their mother tongue and traditions, as well. My ancestors have adapted to their conditions and adopted the culture of their new homes, yet have retained their Armenian culture; so will I.

The activities I have done with others and family involving the Armenian culture have been poignant experiences in my life. Reflecting on my thoughts in middle school, I realized that all I said the Armenian culture being irrelevant was foolish. I am proud to be Armenian and always be. For me passing down my language, dances, recipes, music, and family traditions is not something I just want to do, but something I must to do because I want to perpetuate the Armenian culture.

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