I hope everyone reading this is well and healthy! The past few weeks have been scary and unnerving. There have been a lot of unexpected changes we all have had to adapt to, some harder than others. If you live with your parents like me, you have had to adapt to spending much more time with them than you probably envisioned. If you’re desi, I feel your pain. We love desi parents, but we can’t deny they do have some interesting habits.
1. Screaming during Zoom calls, or as my mom calls it, “talking”
Online learning has become a way of life now. With universities closing down, all of our classes have begun to function virtually. This also includes Zoom calls for lectures. What the calls shouldn’t include is the voice of my parents screaming my name. Not for a life-threatening emergency, of course. Just to tell me that lunch is ready.
2. Forced to watch soap operas every day
If your parents are anything like mine, soap operas are ingrained in your night routine. Nothing says a good night like sitting around the living room and watching unrealistic, dramatic plotlines unfold. If you thought hair flips are dramatic, wait till you see some of the camera work of Indian shows.
Related: Being an Immigrant in 2020
3. No privacy
I love all the family time I am getting when I am home, but I miss my “me” time. They get mad if you aren’t spending all your time with them or doing homework, or preferably both at the same time. “Privacy” is not in the dictionary of desi parents, especially when it comes to their kids.
Via Pexels
Related: How You Can Practice Self-Love
4. Life lectures all day, every day
If you thought only professors are giving lectures this semester, you are incorrect. The great thing with all this family time is that they have ample time to give you lectures about…. everything. The value of sleeping early, why I should take up singing as a hobby, why listening to parents is going to make me a better woman, you name it.
Via Pexels
5. Calling India
This quarantine has really made me appreciate my family back home, and I hope they are well and healthy. Luckily, with everyone stuck at home there, we have video calls all the time. All. The. Time. It was great the first 15 calls, but every time I see my mom these days, she’s FaceTiming a relative. At least she can’t tell me to get off my phone!
All jokes aside, this quarantine has made me grateful for what I have. I have my family, a roof over my head, and food on the table. I really couldn’t ask for anything more. Even though my family can be annoying, frustrating, and can make me want to pull my hair out, I don’t want to take them for granted. Stay indoors, wash your hands, and be positive, collegiettes!