I’ll be honest. At first glance, not many people would think of me as a foreigner.
At first glance, and maybe even a second, I don’t look that much different from the others walking around me. Not many people would glance my direction and think, “Oh, she’s obviously different than us.”
However, that’s not the case internally, for myself. I take pride in being different. I’m sure everyone does. We love being different. That’s what makes the United States such a cool country to live in. We’re different, and it’s not a bad thing. No matter what Donald Trump might try to tell us, being different isn’t bad.
I’m not from this country. I’ll be the first to correct people when they think I’m just a regular American. I’m not. I’m a dual national, actually. I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and adopted at a young age by two wonderful American parents that raised me in Ambridge, Pennsylvania.
Growing up, I was brought up in American culture, in the American lifestyle. I never knew I was different until I found out I was adopted at age 15. Suddenly, when I would tell my friends- my longtime American friends- that I wasn’t quite from their country, I was instantly labeled with the word “foreigner.”
“Foreigner” might sound like it has a bad connotation, but I’m a fan of the word. I don’t mind being a foreigner. It means I’m different. Now, if someone wants to tell me I’m a “dirty Russian foreigner that probably hacked the 2016 election,” things might be different. But all in all, I don’t mind being known as a foreigner.
I wear a Russia hoodie at times. I get told to “Go back to Russia.” That’s not really an insult to me, believe it or not. I would love to go back to the country I was born in. I would love to go back and reconnect with that whole other part of me.
I’m a proud American, but I’m a proud Russian as well. Sure, we’re portrayed badly in the news because of our elected officials. Sure, the election hacking doesn’t help my stock as a Russian, and neither does the doping problems of the Rio 2016 Olympics. However, that doesn’t mean all Russians are bad people.
That’s what I’ve been trying to get across the minds of so many hard-headed individuals. You wouldn’t believe the comments I see on CNN or Fox News’ Facebook pages calling Russians horrible things, that you won’t see me repeating. Sure, people in our country make mistakes. But that doesn’t mean we’re all horrible people.
When it comes to being different, and relishing my foreigner status, my parents are huge supporters. My dad is old school; it took a while- and a bunch of long talks and discussions- for him to accept me wanting to learn more about my culture, my unknown family and the Russian side of me. My mom has always been understanding. It makes me relieved that I can talk about wanting to meet my birth parents with my family, and them totally respecting and understanding that.
My family knows that no matter how much they might drive me crazy, I could never replace them. They’ve been with me for 19 years of my life now, and they’re going to be there for many more years.
They appreciate and understand that I’m different. They don’t care that I wear my Russia hoodie around the house. As long as it’s not a Dallas Cowboys or Baltimore Ravens hoodie, I won’t get a lecture.
I embrace my foreigner status. I don’t mind being different. My skin color is different, my race is different and my culture is different than a lot of others around me. At first glance, you wouldn’t think that, and that’s OK. However, I know I’m different, and have accepted being different. That’s good enough for me.