How Slumdog Millionaire Changed My Life
Growing up a brown girl in Astoria, Queens I never really felt like I fit in anywhere; on one hand I had my strict Bengali parents who forced their religion on me and demanded top grades in school and on the other I faced the peer pressure to assimilate with American culture and let go of the good girl image I put on at home. Though I couldn't change the color of my skin I still tried in vain to be as white as the kids I'd see on TV or in magazines because I thought that that's what it took to be liked by the other girls and boys in my class. It didn't help that I went to a Catholic school where there were only a handful of minorities and everyone turned a blind eye to any racist bullying. I was taunted for being different, for not being allowed to accept communion at church, or attend a birthday party or even a sleepover at a friend's house. It felt like the word fun didn't exist in my parents' vocabulary and home was like a dungeon I was trapped in.