July 02, 2020 (vol. 129, iss. 120) • Page Image 9
… I came to terms with my identity struggle when I began high school. Having come from a middle school surrounded by other Middle East- ern students, I never stood out in the classroom. Because of…
… style among my female classmates. Even though I lived and grew up in Metro Detroit just like the other students, I had never felt more alienated. I felt like a foreigner in my home coun- try…
… raised you? Why aren’t our ways good enough for you?” Time after time, I exasperatedly retali- ated with “That’s not how it works in this country!” I have never been ashamed of being Arab…
… elderly woman while I was browsing through a department store. She gave me a silent, dis- gusted stare before yelling, “You filthy Arab! How dare you come to my country! You make me sick!” I often…
…. Little by little, I attempted to prove to my parents how adapt- ing to American culture was not a rejection of my ethnic background, but rather a means of creating an identity for myself as an Arab…
… up speaking Arabic and practicing traditional Middle East- ern values, which was something that my high school peers were not familiar with. I grew up listening to Arabic music and watching Ara…









