The evolving identity of a first generation American | Somara Theodore | TEDxCreativeCoast

hey everybody my name is Samara and I am a representative of the macaron and Theodore lines of Trinidad and Tobago now some of you may know me as your local meteorologists and when I'm on television this is how I sound however when I'm in a kitchen with my mummy this is how I sound today I am here to talk about this idea about the evolving identity of a first-generation American it truly is a lifestyle and it is so intricately woven into the complex threats of our mixed society that it's easy to overlook our identity does not stand at a point of origin nor does it sit at any particular destination but rather it flows in this transitory and evolutionary phase that resides kind of in-between now the struggle comes into play when we are trying to balance between two different cultures let's talk about culture for a moment it is a beautiful aspect of this life it's an explosion of dance and music out of food religion ideology tradition and it's so cool because it works as a connector of sorts it's almost like no matter where you go in the world if someone has that similar cultural background you have the premise to or the ground to start a conversation initiate a relationship or even a friendship and culture is merely a device used to create unity it's great because we can adapt to new cultures or we can see the beauty and it being theirs but again the complexity arises when you find yourself trying to balance between two distinct cultures it's interesting to see how many first gens are thoroughly perplexed by their identity and how many are not confused at all so I took it upon myself to reach out to a few of my friends and in no way shape or form is this a formal statistical analysis but I wanted to ask them a loaded question they know why it's loaded because you know the feeling you get when you're asked this question and I told them there's no right or wrong answer but if someone were to truthfully ask you what are you how would you reply the first group Group one they completely embraced their parents heritage they said I'm a Trinidadian oh I'm Jamaican I'm Guyanese I'm Bayesian then you had group two who integrated both I'm Caribbean American I'm Jamaican American someone even as far to say I was born in America but my parents they felt a need to include that because that culture had impacted how they identified then there were those who said I'm purely American and finally the group that I can attest to have fallen in time and time again I don't really know it's complicated one person even said they say they said that depends on who's asking the question so you see they're the most intriguing reply I think was from two siblings grew up in the same house same parents and one said oh I'm sure in Italian and the other one said I'm American there was no right or wrong answer but what it did was it highlighted and amplify the forever transient scene lived by a first-gen American now we share traditions that are not widely represented outside of the home therefore we missed that chance at unity but that gap is growing smaller and smaller thinks the liaison of social media my relationship with social media okay so some days it's like peace love no technology and then other days it's like that macaroni and cheese is the bomb calm I have to post it on my Instagram so it was one of those days where the macaroni and cheese was life changing so I posted it on my Instagram feed and I'm perusing through my timeline and I come across this meme okay so now I know that this can affect many cultures or reach many cultures even artists this hit home so hard immediately my first reaction was to screenshot it send it to my roommate from boarding school who I knew had parents from Guyana and I didn't have to send a caption I knew she would know the feeling that was resonating within me of humor so I distinctly remember my father in the kitchen while I was doing my homework as a child sharpening my pencils with knives are in the grooves of scissors to me it was resourceful it was normal and it felt like home now as I would go to bed I'd put away my homework and I'd wake up the next day to go to class I would switch out my passports I would get in the car and we would go to school and I went dear sharpen my pencil at school with a knife partly because I don't think those are allowed but I wouldn't sharpen them in the grooves of scissors either in fear of the ridicule that I would receive from my third grade peers kids can be mean sometimes and I just remember the switch it was a personal struggle that it was developing and it was at times like this and there were many times like this in my life growing up in the multicultural home where I felt a dichotomy arising it was it became an intrinsic and innate behavior to switch my identity on and off depending on the groups I was surrounded by it reached its zenith when I was in college I was in an argument with a young gentleman who shall remain nameless and I remember being so frustrated I don't know how the argument began but I will never forget how it ended I found myself at the peak proclaiming I'm sure nough dad Ian roti PO lorry sorrel Nobby those are my foods when I'm sad and I want to be lifted I listen to soca music when I want to think of home and memories I hear my grandparents quarreling and their sing-songy accent how dare he take this from me but at the same time dare I detest my American heritage it afforded my family educational opportunities that allow me to be an atmospheric scientist today that gave them financial prosperity I was flustered I was confused I wasn't mad at him I was mad at myself at that point I realized throughout this matriculation this matriculation through his point in college I realized that he wasn't going to understand and I knew that at this point in my journey on self-identity I could not explain or articulate but today I can tell you with a surety that as a first-generation American our identity doesn't have a point of origin no is it traveling to any particular destination but rather we must find solace and stability in a transitory State we are swinging pendulums between two worlds harboring two cultures within us we get the opportunity to be ambassadors and translators if you were to ask me today Samara McCarran Theodore what are you I would say I'm our real Trini who was born in Los Angeles thank you you

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 36,114

Keywords: ted, English, tedx talks, ted talks, Culture, ted talk, tedx talk, TEDxTalks, tedx, United States, ted x, Global Issues

Id: hoYJCuOiho0

Length: 7min 22sec (442 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 11 2014