jasleen
HEAD-ROYCE SCHOOL
9TH GRADE
1.How do you identify? Have you always felt comfortable in this identity? Interpret this question however you'd like, whether it be your gender, ethnicity or nationality.
I am a cisgendered, straight female. My ancestors all come from India, and are Sikh (Although my mom’s side had been in California for years while my dad was born in India and brought over to the US when only a few months old). My identity, based off these facts, is pretty straightforward in that I am not mixed race or a part of the LGBT+ community. While this is true I am still female and a person of color, which does have drawbacks and issues in most parts of today’s society.
2.Talk about the environments and communities you've been a part of and the ways in which they've affected the formation of your identity. Tell your story!
I have been attending private schools for my entire life. For the most part, my identity of being a racial minority has never affected me all that much. In fact, what probably affected me more was my height, as I was a very tall kid. Lately Head-Royce has made me more aware of my identity and sort of sad that I haven’t embraced it earlier.
Sometimes I don’t really realize or feel any difference from my identity at school and at home. The only times I truly think about my identity as a minority is during discussions like our day of dialogue about race and gender and also, for example, during history class when talking about Sikhism in freshman year.
I’ve only occasionally felt like I’ve not done enough to be knowledgeable or represent my identity of being Sikh. There is India Club, 9th grade history, and some performances or holidays that make me feel like I am responsible for knowing more about my culture when I simply didn’t have the time, interest, or opportunity when I was younger. So I’ve felt the need to be a representative for my race and overcompensate but ultimately it feels a little more like disappointment in myself for not learning more about my heritage when younger.
3.Where do you feel most safe as a racial minority at Head-Royce?
Basically all the time. I don’t feel in danger or scared about my identity as a racial minority at Head Royce.
4.Do you feel as though individuals of your race are properly represented at HRS. Whether this is through the literature that we read, members of of our staff etc...
Well that depends. I don’t think so in a specific way. We briefly talked about Sikhism for 1 or 2 days within the India Unit of History, but otherwise we don’t address or talk about it often. I think the only way I’ve ever wanted a more in-depth discussion about Sikhs at Head Royce is about our identity in conjunction with 9/11, as many Sikhs have been called ‘terrorist’, attacked, or are racially discriminated against for wearing turbans. In terms of my identity on a larger scale, of either being from an Indian heritage or even more broad Asian heritage, there is a lot of discussion, clubs, and more that address issues and topics within those groups.
5.If there is anything you'd like to talk about that you didn't get a chance to talk about, talk about it here!
I think the biggest impact my identity has had upon me as a female person of color has been on my future, and in the media. First of all in the media there is not a lot of representation for people of the same or similar place as me in movies, television, etc. This is also very concerning for me in my future in that in the career I choose there is the issue of being overlooked or having to work harder in comparison to possible future white male peers.