Essay- Common App

I am Sri Lankan It is 1:30 A.M., and I am Sri Lankan. The world sleeps. Though my eyes too are closed, I am wide awake. I sit at the edge of my bed about an hour into my meditation session; my nightly escape from the outside world and stresses, dedicated to the revelation of things. Since I only get a few time-outs from the hectic life of being a high school senior, I have learned to put this ancient practice of relaxation into good use. I straighten my back and cross my legs in Indian style while my mother’s words that I so often hear keep playing in my head over and over again: “No matter what you do in life, don’t forget where you came from.” Soon, my thoughts wander off to distant memories of a distant place. Until I was ten years old, I played under coconut trees, attended an all-girls school, and watched Sri Lankan television dramas with my family every Sunday night in a small island situated off the coast of India that I still call home. It is where I was born and where my childhood was spent, and I imagined nowhere else better that I could be. However, suddenly, that familiar environment slipped from my grasp when my family made the decision to move to the United States. On that fateful night of November 30, 2000, I screamed as loud as my lungs would let me, and my tears drenched my favorite teenage mutant ninja turtles shirt, as I took one last glance at the house that I’ve spent my entire childhood in. Shortly after arriving at the airport, we took off on our journey to the other side of the world, to the United States. Despite the accomplishments I would achieve and the priceless experiences I would have in the next eight years, I never knew that I would, day by day, become stuck between two cultures, and would have to figure out how to balance it all. It is 1:37 A.M., and I am Sri Lankan. I shift my legs a little and stretch my hamstrings as I continue to meditate and reflect. Throughout the years after my move, I learned that being raised by a highly strict Sri Lankan

family in America is not exactly easy, especially because the two cultures clash on so many levels. Asian cultures in general are typically very conservative, and value education above all other things in life. They are also very family oriented and very traditional and strict when it comes to raising children---- especially girls. One could imagine the feat that I had to conquer upon moving to this liberal, open-minded, and materialistic new place. Different skin tones, different accents, reality shows, clothes, cars, and money surrounded me. I felt like an ant compared to everything in the United States. For my parents, how to raise me was the real question. Overprotective is an understatement when it comes to describing my family members in the early years of their adjustment to this new country. They viewed me as their child who is so vulnerable to these new surroundings that they thought was only dangerous. They also viewed themselves as the ultimate guardians whose primary responsibility is to know my moves at all times to ensure that I stay safe and as culturally confined as I can. My mind digresses to my early teenage years spent in the United States, a time of struggle of self discovery and pressures from the outside world. My family already knew that the American culture consisted of dating, spending time with friends, and driving at an age as young as sixteen, so of course, the rules were set: no sleepovers, no driver’s license until you’re eighteen, no staying out past nine o clock, and don’t even think about dating. I never dared to question their rules, so throughout elementary school and most of middle school, with envy, I watched my American friends hold hands with their boyfriends and go to the late night movies, while I stayed home and spent time with the family. It is 1:45 A.M., and I am Sri Lankan. As I continued meditating, my thoughts help me realize the tremendous task I have overcome.

As the years passed by, I grew up, and I understood and the rules that my parents had set became easier said than followed. I worked hard to enlighten them on the positive reality of Americanism, through articles, books, television shows, statistics, and my own emotional praises. So through coercion and some convincing, I managed to open up the eyes of my closedminded family to the better reality of the United States. As a result, my boundaries eventually diminished, and by the time I reached high school, I enjoyed life in America as most other American teenagers would, while knowing whole heartedly that I am nevertheless the same Sri Lankan girl that played under the coconut trees in Sri Lanka. Although my hobbies and activities might be different now from how they were eight years ago, my morals and values have not changed one bit. My parents adore the fact that education is still my number one priority, and that I have matured as a young woman as well as a young leader, despite cultural hardships. My family came to appreciate the way that the culture in my home and the completely opposite one outside the home has shaped me to be the person that I am now. They finally came to the realization that no matter what their daughter would do, she would stay true to her roots. The circumstances of being juggled around from culture to culture and from country to country were some of the biggest feats that I had to cope with, and needless to say, after eight years of it, I’m quite the expert at it. I arise from my meditation feeling tranquil and relaxed. I end the night’s meditation session with an ancient Buddhist prayer and curl up under my blanket with newfound knowledge that I never took the time to think about until now. One cannot always choose the circumstances one is dealt, but one does have the choice as to how one chooses to deal with them. No one is exempt from turmoil during their lives as well, and I can honestly say that I am thankful for the adversities and challenges which have crossed my path because they have strengthened my character and brought forth certain virtues I might otherwise never have known. The importance

of culture has defined who I am, and I never failed to let neither my family nor myself down. The balance between cultures is a tremendous balancing act that one must somehow learn if they were in a position as I was, and from living in Sri Lanka as well as America, I have mastered it. Albert Einstein once said “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” I kept riding my bicycle, and I finally found my balance. It is 1:47 A.M., and make no mistake. I am Sri Lankan.